Comparing Corteva (NYSE:CTVA) & Air Products and Chemicals (NYSE:APD)

Air Products and Chemicals (NYSE:APD) and Corteva (NYSE:CTVA) are both materials companies, but which is the superior business? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their earnings, analyst recommendations, institutional ownership, dividends, profitability, valuation and risk.

Volatility and Risk

Air Products and Chemicals has a beta of 0.76, indicating that its stock price is 24% 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.

Insider & Institutional Ownership

81.7% of Air Products and Chemicals shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 81.5% of Corteva shares are held by institutional investors. 1.9% of Air Products and Chemicals shares are held by insiders. Comparatively, 0.2% of Corteva shares are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, hedge funds and endowments believe a company will outperform the market over the long term.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a breakdown of recent recommendations and price targets for Air Products and Chemicals and Corteva, as reported by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Air Products and Chemicals	0	7	10	2	2.74
Corteva	1	6	16	0	2.65

Air Products and Chemicals currently has a consensus price target of $333.88, suggesting a potential upside of 8.66%. Corteva has a consensus price target of $60.59, suggesting a potential upside of 387.61%. Given Corteva’s higher possible upside, analysts clearly believe Corteva is more favorable than Air Products and Chemicals.

Profitability

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

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Air Products and Chemicals	-0.38%	16.87%	7.18%
Corteva	5.66%	10.18%	6.00%

Valuation and Earnings

This table compares Air Products and Chemicals and Corteva”s gross revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Air Products and Chemicals	$12.04 billion	5.68	-$394.50 million	($0.22)	-1,396.72
Corteva	$17.40 billion	0.48	$1.09 billion	$1.51	8.23

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

Dividends

Air Products and Chemicals pays an annual dividend of $7.24 per share and has a dividend yield of 2.4%. Corteva pays an annual dividend of $0.72 per share and has a dividend yield of 5.8%. Air Products and Chemicals pays out -3,290.9% 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. Air Products and Chemicals has raised its dividend for 43 consecutive years and Corteva has raised its dividend for 5 consecutive years.

Summary

Air Products and Chemicals beats Corteva on 10 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 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.