Reviewing K+S Aktiengesellschaft (OTCMKTS:KPLUY) and Corteva (NYSE:CTVA)

Corteva (NYSE:CTVA) and K+S Aktiengesellschaft (OTCMKTS:KPLUY) are both basic materials companies, but which is the better stock? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their profitability, dividends, earnings, valuation, risk, analyst recommendations and institutional ownership.

Dividends

Corteva pays an annual dividend of $0.64 per share and has a dividend yield of 1.1%. K+S Aktiengesellschaft pays an annual dividend of $0.08 per share and has a dividend yield of 1.1%. Corteva pays out 62.7% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. K+S Aktiengesellschaft pays out 8.5% 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. Corteva has raised its dividend for 2 consecutive years. Corteva is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and longer track record of dividend growth.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a breakdown of current ratings and target prices for Corteva and K+S Aktiengesellschaft, as provided by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Corteva	0	5	16	0	2.76
K+S Aktiengesellschaft	0	2	2	0	2.50

Corteva presently has a consensus price target of $63.14, indicating a potential upside of 13.24%. Given Corteva’s stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, equities research analysts clearly believe Corteva is more favorable than K+S Aktiengesellschaft.

Valuation & Earnings

This table compares Corteva and K+S Aktiengesellschaft’s top-line revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Corteva	$17.23 billion	2.26	$735.00 million	$1.02	54.67
K+S Aktiengesellschaft	N/A	N/A	N/A	$0.97	7.57

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

Institutional & Insider Ownership

80.6% of Corteva shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 0.0% of K+S Aktiengesellschaft shares are owned by institutional investors. 0.1% of Corteva shares are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, large money managers and endowments believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.

Profitability

This table compares Corteva and K+S Aktiengesellschaft’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Corteva	4.27%	7.43%	4.36%
K+S Aktiengesellschaft	N/A	N/A	N/A

Summary

Corteva beats K+S Aktiengesellschaft on 13 of the 14 factors compared between the two stocks.

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.

About K+S Aktiengesellschaft

K+S Aktiengesellschaft, together with its subsidiaries, operates as a supplier of mineral products for the agricultural, industrial, consumer, and community segments worldwide. It offers potassium chloride for crops, such as grain, corn, rice, and soybean; fertilizer specialties that are used for crops with magnesium and sulfur requirements, including rapeseed or potatoes, as well as for chloride-sensitive crops consisting of citrus, grapes, or vegetables; and water-soluble fertilizers for use in fertigation under the KALISOP, KORN-KALI, ROLL-KALI, PATENTKALI, ESTA KIESERIT, MAGNESIA-KAINIT, SOLUMOP, SOLUSOP, SOLUCMS, SOLUMAP, SOLUMKP, EPSO TOP, EPSO MICROTOP, EPSO COMBITOP, EPSO PROFITOP, and EPSO BORTOP brand names. The company also provides potash, magnesium, and salt products for various industrial applications under the APISAL, AXAL, KASA, k-DRILL, NUTRIKS, REGENIT, and SOLSEL brand names. K+S Aktiengesellschaft was founded in 1889 and is headquartered in Kassel, Germany.