Ecolab (NYSE:ECL) vs. Corteva (NYSE:CTVA) Financial Review

Ecolab (NYSE:ECL) and Corteva (NYSE:CTVA) are both large-cap materials companies, but which is the superior investment? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their dividends, valuation, analyst recommendations, risk, institutional ownership, profitability and earnings.

Profitability

This table compares Ecolab and Corteva’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Ecolab	12.57%	22.72%	8.71%
Corteva	5.66%	10.18%	6.00%

Valuation & Earnings

This table compares Ecolab and Corteva”s top-line revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Ecolab	$16.08 billion	4.81	$2.08 billion	$7.45	37.02
Corteva	$17.40 billion	3.20	$1.09 billion	$1.51	55.28

Ecolab has higher earnings, but lower revenue than Corteva. Ecolab is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Corteva, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Dividends

Ecolab pays an annual dividend of $2.92 per share and has a dividend yield of 1.1%. Corteva pays an annual dividend of $0.72 per share and has a dividend yield of 0.9%. Ecolab pays out 39.2% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Corteva pays out 47.7% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Both companies have healthy payout ratios and should be able to cover their dividend payments with earnings for the next several years. Ecolab has raised its dividend for 33 consecutive years and Corteva has raised its dividend for 5 consecutive years. Ecolab is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and longer track record of dividend growth.

Institutional and Insider Ownership

74.9% of Ecolab shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 81.5% of Corteva shares are owned by institutional investors. 0.5% of Ecolab shares are owned by company insiders. Comparatively, 0.2% of Corteva shares are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, large money managers and hedge funds believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Risk & Volatility

Ecolab has a beta of 0.88, indicating that its stock price is 12% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Corteva has a beta of 0.57, indicating that its stock price is 43% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a breakdown of current recommendations and price targets for Ecolab and Corteva, as provided by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Ecolab	0	3	17	1	2.90
Corteva	0	9	14	0	2.61

Ecolab presently has a consensus target price of $327.56, suggesting a potential upside of 18.78%. Corteva has a consensus target price of $91.50, suggesting a potential upside of 9.62%. Given Ecolab’s stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, analysts plainly believe Ecolab is more favorable than Corteva.

Summary

Ecolab beats Corteva on 15 of the 18 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Ecolab

Ecolab Inc. provides water, hygiene, and infection prevention solutions and services in the United States and internationally. The company operates through three segments: Global Industrial; Global Institutional & Specialty; and Global Healthcare & Life Sciences. The Global Industrial segment offers water treatment and process applications, and cleaning and sanitizing solutions to manufacturing, food and beverage processing, transportation, chemical, metals and mining, power generation, pulp and paper, commercial laundry, petroleum, refining, and petrochemical industries. Its Global Institutional & Specialty segment provides specialized cleaning and sanitizing products to the foodservice, hospitality, lodging, government and education, and retail industries. The Global Healthcare & Life Sciences segment offers specialized cleaning and sanitizing products to the healthcare, personal care, and pharmaceutical industries, such as infection prevention and surgical solutions, and end-to-end cleaning and contamination control solutions under the Ecolab, Microtek, and Anios brand names. In addition, the company provides pest elimination services to detect, eliminate, and prevent pests, such as rodents and insects in restaurants, food and beverage processors, hotels, grocery operations, and other commercial segments including education, life sciences, and healthcare customers. Further, it offers colloidal silica for binding and polishing applications in semiconductor, catalyst, and aerospace component manufacturing, as well as chemical industries; and products and services that manage wash process through custom designed programs, premium products, dispensing equipment, water and energy management, and reduction, as well as real time data management. It sells its products through field sales and corporate account personnel, distributors, and dealers. Ecolab Inc. was founded in 1923 and is headquartered in Saint Paul, Minnesota.

About Corteva

Corteva, Inc. operates in the agriculture business. It operates through two segments, Seed and Crop Protection. The Seed segment develops and supplies advanced germplasm and traits that produce optimum yield for farms. It offers trait technologies that enhance resistance to weather, disease, insects, and herbicides used to control weeds, as well as food and nutritional characteristics. This segment also provides digital solutions that assist farmer decision-making with a view to optimize product selection, and maximize yield and profitability. The Crop Protection segment offers products that protect against weeds, insects and other pests, and diseases, as well as enhances crop health above and below ground through nitrogen management and seed-applied technologies. This segment provides herbicides, insecticides, nitrogen stabilizers, and pasture and range management herbicides. It serves agricultural input industry. The company operates in the United States, Canada, Latin America, the Asia Pacific, Europe, the Middle East, and Africa. Corteva, Inc. was incorporated in 2018 and is headquartered in Indianapolis, Indiana.