Reviewing 5N Plus (OTCMKTS:FPLSF) & Celanese (NYSE:CE)

Celanese (NYSE:CE) and 5N Plus (OTCMKTS:FPLSF) are both materials companies, but which is the better business? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their earnings, profitability, analyst recommendations, valuation, risk, dividends and institutional ownership.

Valuation & Earnings

This table compares Celanese and 5N Plus”s revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Celanese	$9.54 billion	0.55	-$1.17 billion	($10.69)	-4.51
5N Plus	$391.06 million	4.48	$50.57 million	$0.70	27.84

5N Plus has lower revenue, but higher earnings than Celanese. Celanese is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than 5N Plus, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Profitability

This table compares Celanese and 5N Plus’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Celanese	-12.04%	13.04%	2.69%
5N Plus	14.14%	26.36%	11.28%

Analyst Recommendations

This is a breakdown of recent ratings and recommmendations for Celanese and 5N Plus, as reported by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Celanese	1	8	9	1	2.53
5N Plus	0	1	2	1	3.00

Celanese currently has a consensus target price of $60.38, indicating a potential upside of 25.12%. Given Celanese’s higher probable upside, analysts clearly believe Celanese is more favorable than 5N Plus.

Institutional & Insider Ownership

98.9% of Celanese shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 0.1% of 5N Plus shares are owned by institutional investors. 0.3% of Celanese shares are owned by company insiders. Comparatively, 3.9% of 5N Plus shares are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, large money managers and hedge funds believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.

Risk & Volatility

Celanese has a beta of 0.76, meaning that its share price is 24% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, 5N Plus has a beta of 1.88, meaning that its share price is 88% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Summary

5N Plus beats Celanese on 10 of the 14 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Celanese

Celanese Corporation, a chemical and specialty materials company, manufactures and sells high performance engineered polymers in the United States and internationally. It operates through Engineered Materials and Acetyl Chain. The Engineered Materials segment develops, produces, and supplies specialty polymers for automotive and medical applications, as well as for use in industrial products and consumer electronics. The Acetyl Chain segment produces and supplies acetyl products, including acetic acid, vinyl acetate monomers, acetic anhydride, and acetate esters that are used as starting materials for colorants, paints, adhesives, coatings, and pharmaceuticals; and organic solvents and intermediates for pharmaceutical, agricultural, and chemical products. It also offers vinyl acetate-based emulsions for use in paints and coatings, adhesives, construction, glass fiber, textiles, and paper applications; and ethylene vinyl acetate resins and compounds, as well as low-density polyethylene for use in flexible packaging films, lamination film products, hot melt adhesives, automotive parts, and carpeting applications. In addition, it provides redispersible powders (RDP) for use in construction applications, including flooring, plasters, insulation, tiling, and waterproofing. Celanese Corporation was founded in 1918 and is headquartered in Irving, Texas.

About 5N Plus

5N Plus Inc. produces and sells specialty metals and chemicals in North America, Europe, and Asia. It operates through two segments, Specialty Semiconductors and Performance Materials. The company offers semiconductor compounds, semiconductor wafers, metals, epitaxial semiconductor substrates, and solar cells. It also provides active pharmaceutical ingredients, animal feed additives, specialized chemicals, commercial grade metals, alloys, engineered powders, and recycling services. The company serves renewable energy, security, space, pharmaceutical, medical imaging, manufacturing, electronic, consumer, and industrial application markets. 5N Plus Inc. is headquartered in Montreal, Canada.