Analyzing Eastman Chemical (NYSE:EMN) & Senestech (NASDAQ:SNES)

Senestech (NASDAQ:SNES) and Eastman Chemical (NYSE:EMN) are both materials companies, but which is the better stock? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their analyst recommendations, institutional ownership, valuation, profitability, dividends, risk and earnings.

Profitability

This table compares Senestech and Eastman Chemical’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Senestech	-294.73%	-71.89%	-51.98%
Eastman Chemical	4.99%	9.46%	3.78%

Earnings and Valuation

This table compares Senestech and Eastman Chemical”s top-line revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Senestech	$2.22 million	2.18	-$6.38 million	($1.37)	-0.65
Eastman Chemical	$8.75 billion	0.89	$474.00 million	$3.84	17.79

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

Insider and Institutional Ownership

5.2% of Senestech shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 83.7% of Eastman Chemical shares are held by institutional investors. 2.2% of Senestech shares are held by insiders. Comparatively, 2.6% of Eastman Chemical shares are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, endowments and hedge funds believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Volatility and Risk

Senestech has a beta of 0.23, suggesting that its stock price is 77% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Eastman Chemical has a beta of 1.07, suggesting that its stock price is 7% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Analyst Ratings

This is a breakdown of current ratings and target prices for Senestech and Eastman Chemical, as provided by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Senestech	1	0	0	0	1.00
Eastman Chemical	0	8	6	0	2.43

Eastman Chemical has a consensus price target of $79.17, suggesting a potential upside of 15.86%. Given Eastman Chemical’s stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, analysts plainly believe Eastman Chemical is more favorable than Senestech.

Summary

Eastman Chemical beats Senestech on 13 of the 14 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Senestech

SenesTech, Inc. develops a technology for managing animal pest populations through fertility control. It offers ContraPest, a liquid bait that limits reproduction of male and female rats. The company was incorporated in 2004 and is headquartered in Phoenix, Arizona.

About Eastman Chemical

Eastman Chemical Company operates as a specialty materials company in the United States, China, and internationally. The company's Additives & Functional Products segment offers amine derivative-based building blocks, intermediates for surfactants, metam-based soil fumigants, and organic acid-based solutions; specialty coalescent and solvents, paint additives, and specialty polymers; and heat transfer and aviation fluids. It serves transportation, personal care, wellness, food, feed, agriculture, building and construction, water treatment, energy, consumables, durables, and electronics markets. Its Advanced Materials segment provides copolyesters, cellulosic biopolymers, cellulose esters, polyvinyl butyral sheets, and window and protective films for value-added end uses in the transportation, durables, electronics, building and construction, medical and pharma, and consumables markets. The company's Chemical Intermediates segment offers olefin and acetyl derivatives, ethylene, and commodity solvents; and primary non-phthalate and phthalate plasticizers, and niche non-phthalate plasticizers for industrial chemicals and processing, building and construction, health and wellness, and food and feed. Its Fibers segment provides cellulose acetate tow, triacetin, cellulose acetate flake, acetic acid, and acetic anhydride for use in filtration media primarily cigarette filters; natural and solution dyed acetate yarns, and staple fiber for use in consumables, and health and wellness markets; and wet-laid nonwoven media, specialty and engineered papers, and cellulose acetate fibers for transportation, industrial, agriculture and mining, and aerospace markets. The company was founded in 1920 and is headquartered in Kingsport, Tennessee.