Head to Head Review: Northern Technologies International (NASDAQ:NTIC) vs. Celanese (NYSE:CE)

Northern Technologies International (NASDAQ:NTIC) and Celanese (NYSE:CE) are both materials companies, but which is the better investment? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their dividends, institutional ownership, analyst recommendations, valuation, profitability, earnings and risk.

Dividends

Northern Technologies International pays an annual dividend of $0.04 per share and has a dividend yield of 0.5%. Celanese pays an annual dividend of $0.12 per share and has a dividend yield of 0.3%. Northern Technologies International pays out -33.3% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Celanese pays out -1.1% 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. Northern Technologies International is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and lower payout ratio.

Earnings & Valuation

This table compares Northern Technologies International and Celanese”s revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Northern Technologies International	$91.84 million	0.81	$20,000.00	($0.12)	-65.33
Celanese	$9.71 billion	0.50	-$1.17 billion	($10.69)	-4.17

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

Risk & Volatility

Northern Technologies International has a beta of 0.18, indicating that its share price is 82% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Celanese has a beta of 0.76, indicating that its share price is 24% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Analyst Ratings

This is a summary of current ratings and price targets for Northern Technologies International and Celanese, as provided by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Northern Technologies International	1	1	0	0	1.50
Celanese	1	7	9	1	2.56

Celanese has a consensus target price of $63.27, suggesting a potential upside of 42.08%. Given Celanese’s stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, analysts clearly believe Celanese is more favorable than Northern Technologies International.

Profitability

This table compares Northern Technologies International and Celanese’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Northern Technologies International	-1.26%	-0.45%	-0.33%
Celanese	-12.04%	13.04%	2.69%

Insider and Institutional Ownership

32.9% of Northern Technologies International shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 98.9% of Celanese shares are held by institutional investors. 24.9% of Northern Technologies International shares are held by insiders. Comparatively, 0.3% of Celanese shares are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, hedge funds and endowments believe a stock will outperform the market over the long term.

Summary

Celanese beats Northern Technologies International on 10 of the 17 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Northern Technologies International

Northern Technologies International Corporation develops and markets rust and corrosion inhibiting solutions in North America, South America, Europe, Asia, the Middle East and internationally. It offers rust and corrosion inhibiting products, such as plastic and paper packaging, liquids, coatings, rust removers, cleaners, diffusers, and engineered solutions designed for the oil and gas industry under the ZERUST brand. The company provides a portfolio of bio-based and certified compostable polymer resin compounds and finished products under the Natur-Tec brand. In addition, it offers on-site and technical consulting for rust and corrosion prevention issues. It sells its products and services to automotive, electronics, electrical, mechanical, military, retail consumer, and oil and gas markets through direct sales force, network of independent distributors, agents, manufacturer's sales representatives, and strategic partners. The company was founded in 1970 and is headquartered in Circle Pines, Minnesota.

About Celanese

Celanese Corporation, a chemical and specialty materials company, manufactures and sells high performance engineered polymers in the United States and internationally. It operates through Engineered Materials and Acetyl Chain. The Engineered Materials segment develops, produces, and supplies specialty polymers for automotive and medical applications, as well as for use in industrial products and consumer electronics. The Acetyl Chain segment produces and supplies acetyl products, including acetic acid, vinyl acetate monomers, acetic anhydride, and acetate esters that are used as starting materials for colorants, paints, adhesives, coatings, and pharmaceuticals; and organic solvents and intermediates for pharmaceutical, agricultural, and chemical products. It also offers vinyl acetate-based emulsions for use in paints and coatings, adhesives, construction, glass fiber, textiles, and paper applications; and ethylene vinyl acetate resins and compounds, as well as low-density polyethylene for use in flexible packaging films, lamination film products, hot melt adhesives, automotive parts, and carpeting applications. In addition, it provides redispersible powders (RDP) for use in construction applications, including flooring, plasters, insulation, tiling, and waterproofing. Celanese Corporation was founded in 1918 and is headquartered in Irving, Texas.