Contrasting Yara International ASA (OTCMKTS:YARIY) and Eastman Chemical (NYSE:EMN)

Eastman Chemical (NYSE:EMN) and Yara International ASA (OTCMKTS:YARIY) are both materials companies, but which is the better business? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their risk, analyst recommendations, institutional ownership, valuation, profitability, earnings and dividends.

Dividends

Eastman Chemical pays an annual dividend of $3.36 per share and has a dividend yield of 5.1%. Yara International ASA pays an annual dividend of $0.84 per share and has a dividend yield of 3.5%. Eastman Chemical pays out 87.5% of its earnings in the form of a dividend, suggesting it may not have sufficient earnings to cover its dividend payment in the future. Yara International ASA pays out 27.9% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Eastman Chemical has increased its dividend for 15 consecutive years. Eastman Chemical is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and longer track record of dividend growth.

Earnings & Valuation

This table compares Eastman Chemical and Yara International ASA”s gross revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Eastman Chemical	$8.75 billion	0.86	$474.00 million	$3.84	17.22
Yara International ASA	$15.71 billion	0.78	$1.37 billion	$3.01	8.04

Yara International ASA has higher revenue and earnings than Eastman Chemical. Yara International ASA is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Eastman Chemical, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Volatility and Risk

Eastman Chemical has a beta of 1.07, meaning that its share price is 7% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Yara International ASA has a beta of 0.57, meaning that its share price is 43% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Analyst Ratings

This is a summary of current recommendations for Eastman Chemical and Yara International ASA, as provided by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Eastman Chemical	0	8	6	0	2.43
Yara International ASA	1	4	0	2	2.43

Eastman Chemical currently has a consensus target price of $79.17, suggesting a potential upside of 19.72%. Given Eastman Chemical’s higher probable upside, analysts plainly believe Eastman Chemical is more favorable than Yara International ASA.

Insider & Institutional Ownership

83.7% of Eastman Chemical shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 0.0% of Yara International ASA shares are held by institutional investors. 2.6% of Eastman Chemical shares are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, hedge funds and endowments believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Profitability

This table compares Eastman Chemical and Yara International ASA’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Eastman Chemical	4.99%	9.46%	3.78%
Yara International ASA	9.11%	16.77%	8.53%

Summary

Eastman Chemical beats Yara International ASA on 10 of the 17 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Eastman Chemical

Eastman Chemical Company operates as a specialty materials company in the United States, China, and internationally. The company's Additives & Functional Products segment offers amine derivative-based building blocks, intermediates for surfactants, metam-based soil fumigants, and organic acid-based solutions; specialty coalescent and solvents, paint additives, and specialty polymers; and heat transfer and aviation fluids. It serves transportation, personal care, wellness, food, feed, agriculture, building and construction, water treatment, energy, consumables, durables, and electronics markets. Its Advanced Materials segment provides copolyesters, cellulosic biopolymers, cellulose esters, polyvinyl butyral sheets, and window and protective films for value-added end uses in the transportation, durables, electronics, building and construction, medical and pharma, and consumables markets. The company's Chemical Intermediates segment offers olefin and acetyl derivatives, ethylene, and commodity solvents; and primary non-phthalate and phthalate plasticizers, and niche non-phthalate plasticizers for industrial chemicals and processing, building and construction, health and wellness, and food and feed. Its Fibers segment provides cellulose acetate tow, triacetin, cellulose acetate flake, acetic acid, and acetic anhydride for use in filtration media primarily cigarette filters; natural and solution dyed acetate yarns, and staple fiber for use in consumables, and health and wellness markets; and wet-laid nonwoven media, specialty and engineered papers, and cellulose acetate fibers for transportation, industrial, agriculture and mining, and aerospace markets. The company was founded in 1920 and is headquartered in Kingsport, Tennessee.

About Yara International ASA

Yara International ASA provides crop nutrition and industrial solutions in Norway, European Union, Europe, Africa, Asia, North and Latin America, Australia, and New Zealand. The company offers ammonium- and urea-based fertilizers; compound fertilizers that contain nutrients, such as nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium; coatings; biostimulants; organic-based fertilizers; green fertilizers are nitrate-based mineral fertilizers, as well as foliar and fertigation solutions; and nitrate, calcium nitrate, micronutrient, and fertigation and urea fertilizers. It also offers digital solutions, such as variable rate application solutions; N-Sensor, a tractor-mounted hardware; N-Tester, a handheld nitrogen measurement tool; YaraFX Insight, an agricultural API; and Atfarm, a digital toolbox for farmer. The company sells its products under YaraBela, YaraMila, YaraLiva, YaraVita, YaraRega, YaraTera, YaraSuna, and YaraVera and brands. Yara International ASA was founded in 1905 and is headquartered in Oslo, Norway.