Methanex (NASDAQ:MEOH) versus Tosoh (OTCMKTS:TOSCF) Head-To-Head Review

Tosoh (OTCMKTS:TOSCF) and Methanex (NASDAQ:MEOH) are both mid-cap basic materials companies, but which is the better investment? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their risk, dividends, profitability, valuation, institutional ownership, analyst recommendations and earnings.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a breakdown of current ratings for Tosoh and Methanex, as provided by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Tosoh	0	0	0	0	0.00
Methanex	1	3	8	1	2.69

Methanex has a consensus target price of $47.00, suggesting a potential upside of 3.36%. Given Methanex’s stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, analysts clearly believe Methanex is more favorable than Tosoh.

Insider & Institutional Ownership

73.5% of Methanex shares are owned by institutional investors. 1.0% of Methanex shares are owned by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, large money managers and hedge funds believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.

Volatility and Risk

Tosoh has a beta of 0.25, meaning that its stock price is 75% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Methanex has a beta of 0.73, meaning that its stock price is 27% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Profitability

This table compares Tosoh and Methanex’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Tosoh	3.86%	6.63%	4.49%
Methanex	5.97%	9.07%	3.41%

Valuation & Earnings

This table compares Tosoh and Methanex”s top-line revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Tosoh	$6.98 billion	0.73	$382.82 million	$0.85	18.82
Methanex	$3.57 billion	0.99	$163.99 million	$2.95	15.41

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

Summary

Methanex beats Tosoh on 11 of the 15 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Tosoh

Tosoh Corporation manufactures and sells basic chemicals, petrochemicals, specialty products, and fine chemicals worldwide. It operates through four segments: Petrochemical, Chlor-Alkali, Specialty, and Engineering. The company provides advance materials, including battery, fabricated quartzware, silica glass, thin film depositions, zeolites for catalysts and molecular sieves, zirconia injection mold components and compounds, zirconia grinding and dispersion media, and zirconia fine beads and powders. It also offers chromatographic columns, and media and diagnostic systems; clinical diagnostic systems; Portland cement and blast-furnace slag cement; and caustic soda, vinyl chloride monomer, calcium hypochlorite, and sodium bicarbonate. In addition, the company provides ethylene, propylene, C4 fraction, tertiary butyl alcohol, cumene, and aromatic compounds; and ethyleneamines, bromine, hydrobromic acids, flame retardants, non-aqueous solvents, chelating agents, ethylene dichloride, and sodium styrenesulfonate. Further, it offers polymers, such as ethylene vinyl-acetate copolymers, adhesive polymers, low and high-density polyethylene products, synthetic rubbers, functional polymers, and polyvinyl chloride pastes; and polyurethanes (PU), including methylene diphenyl diisocyanate, toluene diisocyanate, hexamethylene diisocyanate, adhesives, coating resins, elastomers, polyisocyanates for PU paints, and polyols. The company manufactures and sells water treatment systems; and engages in the construction and repair businesses. It serves chemical and petrochemical, construction, automotive, consumer electronics, information technology, bioscience, and environmental markets. The company was incorporated in 1935 and is headquartered in Tokyo, Japan.

About Methanex

Methanex Corporation produces and supplies methanol in China, Europe, the United States, South America, South Korea, Canada, and Asia. The company also purchases methanol produced by others under methanol offtake contracts and on the spot market. In addition, it owns and leases storage and terminal facilities. The company owns and manages a fleet of approximately 30 ocean-going vessels. It serves chemical and petrochemical producers. Methanex Corporation was incorporated in 1968 and is headquartered in Vancouver, Canada.