Reviewing Acerinox (OTCMKTS:ANIOY) & Algoma Steel Group (NASDAQ:ASTL)

Acerinox (OTCMKTS:ANIOY) and Algoma Steel Group (NASDAQ:ASTL) are both basic materials companies, but which is the better stock? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their dividends, profitability, risk, analyst recommendations, valuation, earnings and institutional ownership.

Profitability

This table compares Acerinox and Algoma Steel Group’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Acerinox	-0.72%	-1.92%	-0.70%
Algoma Steel Group	-47.61%	-42.31%	-16.52%

Volatility and Risk

Acerinox has a beta of 1.09, indicating that its share price is 9% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Algoma Steel Group has a beta of 1.54, indicating that its share price is 54% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Insider and Institutional Ownership

72.0% of Algoma Steel Group shares are owned by institutional investors. 7.8% of Algoma Steel Group shares are owned by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, endowments and large money managers believe a company will outperform the market over the long term.

Analyst Ratings

This is a breakdown of current ratings for Acerinox and Algoma Steel Group, as reported by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Acerinox	1	1	2	0	2.25
Algoma Steel Group	1	5	0	0	1.83

Valuation & Earnings

This table compares Acerinox and Algoma Steel Group”s revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Acerinox	$6.54 billion	0.54	-$45.34 million	($0.09)	-78.33
Algoma Steel Group	$1.49 billion	0.29	-$704.89 million	($6.72)	-0.62

Acerinox has higher revenue and earnings than Algoma Steel Group. Acerinox is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Algoma Steel Group, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Dividends

Acerinox pays an annual dividend of $0.22 per share and has a dividend yield of 3.1%. Algoma Steel Group pays an annual dividend of $0.05 per share and has a dividend yield of 1.2%. Acerinox pays out -244.4% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Algoma Steel Group pays out -0.7% 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. Acerinox is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and lower payout ratio.

Summary

Acerinox beats Algoma Steel Group on 11 of the 15 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Acerinox

Acerinox, S.A., together with its subsidiaries, manufactures, process, and markets stainless steel products in Spain, the United States, Africa, Asia, Rest of Europe, and internationally. It operates through Stainless steel, and High-performance Alloys segments. The company offers flat products, including hot and cold rolled coils and sheets, strips, flat bars, and discs, as well as engraved coil and sheet, black coil, slabs, circles, billets, and plates. It provides long products, which include wire and hexagonal wire rods, peeled bars, hot and cold reinforcement bars, black bars, profiles, angles, and steel profiles, as well as stainless steel, color coated, and reinforcement wires. In additions, it offers stainless steel products, such as austenitic, ferritic, duplex, and martensitic. Acerinox, S.A. was incorporated in 1970 and is headquartered in Madrid, Spain.

About Algoma Steel Group

Algoma Steel Group Inc. produces and sells steel products primarily in North America. The company provides flat/sheet steel products, including temper rolling, cold rolled, hot-rolled pickled and oiled products, floor plate, and cut-to-length products for the automotive industry, hollow structural product manufacturers, and the light manufacturing and transportation industries; and plate steel products that consist of rolled, hot-rolled, and heat-treated for use in the construction or manufacture of railcars, buildings, bridges, off-highway equipment, storage tanks, ships, and military applications. Algoma Steel Group Inc. was founded in 1901 and is headquartered in Sault Ste. Marie, Canada.