International Flavors & Fragrances (NYSE:IFF) versus Croda International (OTCMKTS:COIHY) Critical Review

Croda International (OTCMKTS:COIHY) and International Flavors & Fragrances (NYSE:IFF) are both basic materials companies, but which is the better investment? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their valuation, dividends, institutional ownership, risk, profitability, analyst recommendations and earnings.

Analyst Ratings

This is a summary of recent ratings and target prices for Croda International and International Flavors & Fragrances, as provided by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Croda International	2	0	0	2	2.50
International Flavors & Fragrances	2	4	12	0	2.56

International Flavors & Fragrances has a consensus price target of $85.02, suggesting a potential upside of 37.41%. Given International Flavors & Fragrances’ stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, analysts plainly believe International Flavors & Fragrances is more favorable than Croda International.

Insider & Institutional Ownership

0.1% of Croda International shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 96.0% of International Flavors & Fragrances shares are held by institutional investors. 0.2% of International Flavors & Fragrances shares are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, endowments and large money managers believe a company will outperform the market over the long term.

Risk and Volatility

Croda International has a beta of 1.17, meaning that its stock price is 17% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, International Flavors & Fragrances has a beta of 1.04, meaning that its stock price is 4% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Earnings & Valuation

This table compares Croda International and International Flavors & Fragrances”s gross revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Croda International	$2.08 billion	2.47	$202.55 million	N/A	N/A
International Flavors & Fragrances	$11.07 billion	1.43	$243.00 million	($1.62)	-38.19

International Flavors & Fragrances has higher revenue and earnings than Croda International.

Profitability

This table compares Croda International and International Flavors & Fragrances’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Croda International	N/A	N/A	N/A
International Flavors & Fragrances	-3.48%	7.95%	3.97%

Dividends

Croda International pays an annual dividend of $0.51 per share and has a dividend yield of 2.8%. International Flavors & Fragrances pays an annual dividend of $1.60 per share and has a dividend yield of 2.6%. International Flavors & Fragrances pays out -98.8% of its earnings in the form of a dividend.

Summary

International Flavors & Fragrances beats Croda International on 10 of the 15 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Croda International

Croda International Plc engages in the consumer care, life science, and industrial specialty businesses in in Europe, the Middle East, Africa, North America, Asia, and Latin America. The company offers speciality and active ingredients across beauty care, beauty actives, and home care products, as well as fragrances and flavours. It also provides biologics drug delivery, adjuvant systems, small molecule, protein, and nucleic acid delivery platforms, as well as purity materials for pharmaceutical formulations. In addition, the company offers crop protection and seed enhancement related solutions. Croda International Plc was incorporated in 1925 and is headquartered in Goole, the United Kingdom.

About International Flavors & Fragrances

International Flavors & Fragrances, Inc. engages in the manufacture and supply of flavors and fragrances used in the food, beverage, personal care, and household products industries. It operates through the following segments: Nourish, Health & Biosciences, Scent and Pharma Solutions. The Nourish segment consists of legacy Taste segment combined with N&B’s Food & Beverage division and the food protection business of N&B’s Health & Biosciences division. The Health & Biosciences business consists of a biotechnology-driven portfolio of enzymes, food cultures, probiotics and specialty ingredients for food, home and personal care, and health and wellness applications. The Scent business creates fragrance compounds, fragrance ingredients and cosmetic ingredients that are integral elements in the world’s finest perfumes and best-known household and personal care products. The Pharma Solutions business produces a vast portfolio including cellulosics and seaweed-based pharma excipients, used to improve the functionality and delivery of active pharmaceutical ingredients, including controlled or modified drug release formulations, and enabling. The company was founded in 1833 and is headquartered in New York, NY.