Contrasting Element Solutions (NYSE:ESI) & Symrise (OTCMKTS:SYIEY)

Symrise (OTCMKTS:SYIEY) and Element Solutions (NYSE:ESI) are both basic materials companies, but which is the better investment? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their risk, institutional ownership, profitability, earnings, valuation, analyst recommendations and dividends.

Earnings and Valuation

This table compares Symrise and Element Solutions”s revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Symrise	$5.41 billion	2.08	$517.49 million	N/A	N/A
Element Solutions	$2.46 billion	2.60	$244.20 million	$0.99	26.68

Symrise has higher revenue and earnings than Element Solutions.

Dividends

Symrise pays an annual dividend of $0.18 per share and has a dividend yield of 0.9%. Element Solutions pays an annual dividend of $0.32 per share and has a dividend yield of 1.2%. Element Solutions pays out 32.3% of its earnings in the form of a dividend.

Profitability

This table compares Symrise and Element Solutions’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Symrise	N/A	N/A	N/A
Element Solutions	9.58%	14.01%	7.28%

Institutional and Insider Ownership

92.3% of Element Solutions shares are owned by institutional investors. 6.9% of Element Solutions shares are owned by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, large money managers and endowments believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a summary of current recommendations and price targets for Symrise and Element Solutions, as reported by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Symrise	0	1	2	1	3.00
Element Solutions	0	2	7	1	2.90

Element Solutions has a consensus price target of $30.75, suggesting a potential upside of 16.40%. Given Element Solutions’ higher possible upside, analysts clearly believe Element Solutions is more favorable than Symrise.

Risk & Volatility

Symrise has a beta of 0.71, indicating that its stock price is 29% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Element Solutions has a beta of 1.33, indicating that its stock price is 33% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Summary

Element Solutions beats Symrise on 10 of the 14 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Symrise

Symrise AG supplies fragrances, flavorings, cosmetic active ingredients and raw materials, and functional ingredients in Europe, Africa, the Middle East, North America, the Asia Pacific, and Latin America. It operates through two segments, Taste, Nutrition & Health; and Scent & Care. The Taste, Nutrition & Health segment provides functional ingredients and product solutions used in the production of food and beverages; savory flavors; natural and sustainable ingredients for food and beverage manufacturers, baby food, and dietary supplements; product solutions and services for pet food manufacturers; sustainable ingredients and services for fish feed manufacturers to develop solutions for fish and shrimp farms; and probiotics for food supplements and functional foods. The Scent & Care segment develops, produces, and sells fragrance ingredients and compositions, aroma molecules, cosmetic ingredients, and mint flavors, as well as specific application processes for such substances. This segment's products are used by manufacturers of perfumes, personal care and cosmetic products, cleaning products, detergents, air fresheners, and oral care products. Symrise AG was founded in 1874 and is headquartered in Holzminden, Germany.

About Element Solutions

Element Solutions Inc operates as a specialty chemicals company in the United States, China, and internationally. The company operates in two segments, Electronics, and Industrial & Specialty. The Electronics segment researches, formulates, and sells specialty chemicals and materials for various types of electronics hardware products. This segment also supplies surface mount technologies, fluxes, thermal management material, coatings, and other attachment materials; chemical formulations to the electronics industry; and advanced copper interconnects, die attachment, sintered silver material, adhesives, wafer bump processes, and photomask technologies for semiconductor industry. It primarily serves mobile communications, computers, automobiles, and aerospace equipment industries. The Industrial & Specialty segment provides industrial solutions, which include chemical systems that protect and decorate metal and plastic surfaces; consumable chemicals that enable printing image transfer on flexible packaging materials; and chemistries used in water-based hydraulic control fluids for offshore energy production applications. It serves aerospace, automotive, construction, consumer electronics, consumer packaged goods, and oil and gas production end markets. The company was formerly known as Platform Specialty Products Corporation and changed its name to Element Solutions Inc in January 2019. Element Solutions Inc was founded in 1785 and is headquartered in Fort Lauderdale, Florida.