FUCHS (OTCMKTS:FUPBY – Get Free Report) and Orion (NYSE:OEC – Get Free Report) are both basic materials companies, but which is the better investment? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their institutional ownership, valuation, earnings, profitability, risk, analyst recommendations and dividends.
Profitability
This table compares FUCHS and Orion’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.
| Net Margins | Return on Equity | Return on Assets | |
| FUCHS | 8.30% | 15.46% | 11.14% |
| Orion | -1.74% | 14.90% | 3.45% |
Analyst Recommendations
This is a summary of current ratings for FUCHS and Orion, as reported by MarketBeat.com.
| Sell Ratings | Hold Ratings | Buy Ratings | Strong Buy Ratings | Rating Score | |
| FUCHS | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2.00 |
| Orion | 3 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1.40 |
Dividends
FUCHS pays an annual dividend of $0.17 per share and has a dividend yield of 1.6%. Orion pays an annual dividend of $0.08 per share and has a dividend yield of 1.2%. FUCHS pays out 27.0% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Orion pays out -13.8% 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.
Valuation & Earnings
This table compares FUCHS and Orion”s gross revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.
| Gross Revenue | Price/Sales Ratio | Net Income | Earnings Per Share | Price/Earnings Ratio | |
| FUCHS | $3.81 billion | 1.50 | $326.79 million | $0.63 | 17.33 |
| Orion | $1.83 billion | 0.20 | $44.20 million | ($0.58) | -11.20 |
FUCHS has higher revenue and earnings than Orion. Orion is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than FUCHS, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.
Risk and Volatility
FUCHS has a beta of 0.91, suggesting that its share price is 9% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Orion has a beta of 1.06, suggesting that its share price is 6% more volatile than the S&P 500.
Insider and Institutional Ownership
94.3% of Orion shares are held by institutional investors. 2.7% of Orion shares are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, endowments and large money managers believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.
Summary
FUCHS beats Orion on 11 of the 16 factors compared between the two stocks.
About FUCHS
Fuchs SE develops, produces, and sells lubricants and related specialties in Europe, the Middle East, Africa, the Asia Pacific, and North and South America. The company offers automotive lubricants, such as biodegradable lubricants, central and mobile hydraulic oils, dry coatings, engine and gear oils, motorcycle/two wheelers, and service fluids, as well as various oils for agriculture sector. It also provides industrial lubricants, including chain lubricants, dry coatings, gear and hydraulic oils, machine oils, open gear lubricants, rapidly biodegradable lubricants, compressor and refrigeration oils, release agents, slideways oils, fluids and industrial oils, textile machine oils, and turbine oils. In addition, the company offers lubricating greases comprising assembly pastes, biodegradable greases, food grade greases, multi-purpose/long-life greases, pastes for extreme temperatures, perfluorinated pastes, and wheel bearing greases, as well as gear boxes, and greases for central lubricating system, extreme temperature, machine tools, plain and roller bearings, rail vehicles, spray cans or rattle cans, and solid lubricants. Further, it provides metal processing lubricants consisting of cleaners, corrosion preventives, cutting and grinding, forming lubricants, and quenching oils; and special application lubricants for application equipment, chain lubrication, dry coatings, food and beverage, gears, sugar processing, railway traffic, plain and roller bearings, glass manufacturing process, hot forming, maintenance, open gears, pastes, release agents, other specialties, special greases, and wind power plants. Additionally, the company offers open gear and surface coating services. The company was formerly known as Fuchs Petrolub SE and changed its name to Fuchs SE in July 2023. Fuchs SE was founded in 1931 and is headquartered in Mannheim, Germany.
About Orion
Orion S.A., together with its subsidiaries, engages in the manufacture and sale of carbon black products. It operates in two segments, Specialty Carbon Black and Rubber Carbon Black. The company offers post-treated specialty carbon black grades for coatings and printing applications; high purity carbon black grades for the fiber industry; and conductive carbon black grades for batteries, polymers, and coatings. It also provides rubber carbon black products for applications in mechanical rubber goods, as well as in tires under the ECORAX brand name; and acetylene-based conductive additives for lithium-ion batteries and other applications. It operates in the United States, Brazil, rest of the Americas, Germany, South Africa, Italy, Spain, Turkey, France, Rest of EMEA, China, the Republic of Korea, and rest of Asia. The company was formerly known as Orion Engineered Carbons S.A. and changed its name to Orion S.A. in June 2023. Orion S.A. was founded in 1862 and is headquartered in Senningerberg, Luxembourg.
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