Air Products and Chemicals (NYSE:APD) and Olin (NYSE:OLN) Head to Head Analysis

Air Products and Chemicals (NYSE:APD) and Olin (NYSE:OLN) are both basic materials companies, but which is the superior stock? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their risk, analyst recommendations, dividends, profitability, valuation, institutional ownership and earnings.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a summary of current ratings and target prices for Air Products and Chemicals and Olin, as reported by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Air Products and Chemicals	1	5	11	1	2.67
Olin	1	11	3	0	2.13

Air Products and Chemicals currently has a consensus target price of $332.41, suggesting a potential upside of 18.33%. Olin has a consensus target price of $27.80, suggesting a potential upside of 36.57%. Given Olin’s higher probable upside, analysts clearly believe Olin is more favorable than Air Products and Chemicals.

Earnings & Valuation

This table compares Air Products and Chemicals and Olin”s revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Air Products and Chemicals	$12.10 billion	5.17	$3.83 billion	$6.88	40.83
Olin	$6.54 billion	0.36	$108.60 million	$0.51	39.91

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

Profitability

This table compares Air Products and Chemicals and Olin’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Air Products and Chemicals	12.76%	15.48%	7.06%
Olin	0.94%	3.13%	0.86%

Institutional & Insider Ownership

81.7% of Air Products and Chemicals shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 88.7% of Olin shares are held by institutional investors. 0.4% of Air Products and Chemicals shares are held by insiders. Comparatively, 1.7% of Olin shares are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, hedge funds and endowments believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Dividends

Air Products and Chemicals pays an annual dividend of $7.16 per share and has a dividend yield of 2.5%. Olin pays an annual dividend of $0.80 per share and has a dividend yield of 3.9%. Air Products and Chemicals pays out 104.1% of its earnings in the form of a dividend, suggesting it may not have sufficient earnings to cover its dividend payment in the future. Olin pays out 156.9% of its earnings in the form of a dividend, suggesting it may not have sufficient earnings to cover its dividend payment in the future. Air Products and Chemicals has raised its dividend for 50 consecutive years.

Volatility and Risk

Air Products and Chemicals has a beta of 0.86, indicating that its stock price is 14% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Olin has a beta of 1.53, indicating that its stock price is 53% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Summary

Air Products and Chemicals beats Olin on 13 of the 18 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Air Products and Chemicals

Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. provides atmospheric gases, process and specialty gases, equipment, and related services in the Americas, Asia, Europe, the Middle East, India, and internationally. The company produces atmospheric gases, including oxygen, nitrogen, and argon; process gases, such as hydrogen, helium, carbon dioxide, carbon monoxide, and syngas; and specialty gases for customers in various industries, including refining, chemical, manufacturing, electronics, energy production, medical, food, and metals. It also designs and manufactures equipment for air separation, hydrocarbon recovery and purification, natural gas liquefaction, and liquid helium and liquid hydrogen transport and storage. The company was founded in 1940 and is headquartered in Allentown, Pennsylvania.

About Olin

Olin Corporation manufactures and distributes chemical products in the United States, Europe, Asia Pacific, Latin America, and Canada. It operates through three segments: Chlor Alkali Products and Vinyls; Epoxy; and Winchester. The Chlor Alkali Products and Vinyls segment offers chlorine and caustic soda, ethylene dichloride and vinyl chloride monomers, methyl chloride, methylene chloride, chloroform, carbon tetrachloride, perchloroethylene, hydrochloric acid, hydrogen, bleach products, potassium hydroxide, and chlorinated organics intermediates and solvents. The Epoxy segment provides Allylics, such as allyl chloride, epichlorohydrin, and glycerin; aromatics, including acetone, bisphenol, cumene, and phenol; liquid and solid epoxy resins; and converted epoxy resins and additives. The Winchester segment offers sporting ammunition products, including shotshells, small caliber centerfire, and rimfire ammunition products for hunters and recreational shooters, and law enforcement agencies; small caliber military ammunition products for use in infantry and mounted weapons; and industrial products comprising gauge loads and powder-actuated tool loads for maintenance applications in power and concrete industries, and powder-actuated tools in construction industry. The company markets its products through its sales force, as well as directly to various industrial customers, mass merchants, retailers, wholesalers, gun clubs, other distributors, and the U.S. Government and its prime contractors. Olin Corporation was incorporated in 1892 and is based in Clayton, Missouri.