Transcontinental (OTCMKTS:TCLCF) vs. NL Industries (NYSE:NL) Head-To-Head Review

Transcontinental (OTCMKTS:TCLCF) and NL Industries (NYSE:NL) are both industrials companies, but which is the better investment? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their earnings, risk, dividends, valuation, institutional ownership, profitability and analyst recommendations.

Dividends

Transcontinental pays an annual dividend of $0.62 per share and has a dividend yield of 11.4%. NL Industries pays an annual dividend of $0.40 per share and has a dividend yield of 6.2%. Transcontinental pays out 46.6% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. NL Industries pays out -76.9% 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. NL Industries has raised its dividend for 2 consecutive years.

Profitability

This table compares Transcontinental and NL Industries’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Transcontinental	N/A	N/A	N/A
NL Industries	-15.75%	-6.67%	-5.38%

Analyst Ratings

This is a summary of current ratings and target prices for Transcontinental and NL Industries, as provided by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Transcontinental	0	0	0	0	0.00
NL Industries	0	1	0	0	2.00

Insider and Institutional Ownership

0.0% of Transcontinental shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 10.7% of NL Industries shares are held by institutional investors. 0.3% of NL Industries shares are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, endowments and hedge funds believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.

Valuation and Earnings

This table compares Transcontinental and NL Industries”s top-line revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Transcontinental	N/A	N/A	N/A	$1.34	4.10
NL Industries	$161.83 million	1.96	-$37.83 million	($0.52)	-12.48

Transcontinental has higher earnings, but lower revenue than NL Industries. NL Industries is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Transcontinental, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

About Transcontinental

Transcontinental Inc. engages in the flexible packaging business in Canada, the United States, Latin America, the United Kingdom, Australia, and New Zealand. It operates through Packaging, Printing, and Media sectors. The Packaging sector engages in the extrusion, lamination, printing, and converting packaging solutions; and manufacturing and recycling flexible plastic, including rollstock, bags and pouches, coextruded films, shrink films and bags, and advanced coatings. This sector serves agriculture, beverage, cheese and dairy, coffee and tea, frozen, health and wellness, home and personal care, industrial, lawn and garden, meat and protein, pet food, snacks, confection and dairy foods, tobacco, music, and entertainment markets, as well as supermarkets. The Printing sector provides integrated services for retailers, such as premedia services, flyer and in-store marketing product printing, and door-to-door distribution, as well as print solutions for newspapers, magazines, 4-color books, and personalized and mass marketing products. The Media sector is involved in printing and digital publishing of educational and trade books, and specialized publications for professionals and newspapers in French and English. Transcontinental Inc. was founded in 1976 and is headquartered in Montreal, Canada.

About NL Industries

NL Industries, Inc., through its subsidiary, CompX International Inc., operates in the component products industry in Europe, North America, the Asia Pacific, and internationally. The company manufactures and sells mechanical and electronic cabinet locks and other locking mechanisms, including disc tumbler locks; pin tumbler locking mechanisms under KeSet, System 64, TuBar, and Turbine brands; and electronic locks under CompX eLock and StealthLock brands for use in various applications, such as mailboxes, ignition systems, file cabinets, desk drawers, tool storage cabinets, high security medical cabinetry, integrated inventory and access control secured narcotics boxes, electronic circuit panels, storage compartments, gas station security, vending and cash containment machines. It also offers original equipment and aftermarket stainless steel exhaust headers, exhaust pipes, mufflers, and other exhaust components; gauges, such as GPS speedometers and tachometers; mechanical and electronic controls and throttles; wake enhancement devices, trim tabs, steering wheels, and other billet aluminum accessories; dash panels, LED indicators, wire harnesses, and other accessories; and grab handles, pin cleats, and other accessories; primarily for performance and ski/wakeboard and performance boats. In addition, the company produces and markets value-added titanium dioxide pigments, a base industrial product used in imparting whiteness, brightness, opacity, and durability to a diverse range of customer applications and end-use markets, including coatings, plastics, paper, inks, cosmetics, pharmaceuticals, and other industrial and consumer products. The company sells its component products directly to original equipment manufacturers, as well as through distributors. NL Industries, Inc. was founded in 1891 and is based in Dallas, Texas. NL Industries, Inc. operates as a subsidiary of Valhi, Inc.