Acerinox (OTCMKTS:ANIOY) vs. POSCO (NYSE:PKX) Critical Survey

Acerinox (OTCMKTS:ANIOY) and POSCO (NYSE:PKX) are both basic materials companies, but which is the better business? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their earnings, analyst recommendations, profitability, risk, valuation, institutional ownership and dividends.

Earnings and Valuation

This table compares Acerinox and POSCO”s revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Acerinox	$5.86 billion	N/A	$243.41 million	$0.19	35.16
POSCO	$53.28 billion	0.27	$787.77 million	$0.81	59.24

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

Dividends

Acerinox pays an annual dividend of $0.22 per share and has a dividend yield of 3.3%. POSCO pays an annual dividend of $1.41 per share and has a dividend yield of 2.9%. Acerinox pays out 115.8% of its earnings in the form of a dividend, suggesting it may not have sufficient earnings to cover its dividend payment in the future. POSCO pays out 174.1% of its earnings in the form of a dividend, suggesting it may not have sufficient earnings to cover its dividend payment in the future. Acerinox is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and lower payout ratio.

Risk and Volatility

Acerinox has a beta of 1.26, suggesting that its stock price is 26% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, POSCO has a beta of 1.46, suggesting that its stock price is 46% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Profitability

This table compares Acerinox and POSCO’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Acerinox	1.59%	3.54%	1.41%
POSCO	0.69%	0.82%	0.49%

Analyst Recommendations

This is a summary of current recommendations and price targets for Acerinox and POSCO, as provided by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Acerinox	0	1	3	0	2.75
POSCO	1	1	1	0	2.00

Summary

Acerinox beats POSCO on 7 of the 12 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Acerinox

Acerinox, S.A., together with its subsidiaries, manufactures, process, and markets stainless steel products in Spain, the United States, Africa, Asia, Rest of Europe, and internationally. It operates through Stainless steel, and High-performance Alloys segments. The company offers flat products, including hot and cold rolled coils and sheets, strips, flat bars, and discs, as well as engraved coil and sheet, black coil, slabs, circles, billets, and plates. It provides long products, which include wire and hexagonal wire rods, peeled bars, hot and cold reinforcement bars, black bars, profiles, angles, and steel profiles, as well as stainless steel, color coated, and reinforcement wires. In additions, it offers stainless steel products, such as austenitic, ferritic, duplex, and martensitic. Acerinox, S.A. was incorporated in 1970 and is headquartered in Madrid, Spain.

About POSCO

POSCO Holdings Inc., together with its subsidiaries, operates as an integrated steel producer in Korea and internationally. It operates through six segments: Steel, Trading, Construction, Logistics and Others, Green Materials and Energy, and Others. The company engages in the production, import, sale, and export of steel products, such as hot and cold rolled steel, stainless steel, plates, wire rods, and silicon steel sheets, as well as pig iron, billets, blooms, and slabs; trading of steel and raw materials, textiles, agricultural commodities, and other goods; natural resources development and power generation activities; and planning, designing, and construction of industrial plants, civil engineering projects, and commercial and residential buildings. It is also involved in the manufacture and sale of various energy-related and other industrial materials, including anode and cathode materials for rechargeable batteries; investment business; and provision of alternative environmentally-friendly energy solutions, as well as information technology and operational technology, and integrated logistics services. POSCO Holdings Inc. was incorporated in 1968 and is based in Seoul, South Korea.