Air Liquide (OTCMKTS:AIQUY) & Huntsman (NYSE:HUN) Head-To-Head Contrast

Air Liquide (OTCMKTS:AIQUY) and Huntsman (NYSE:HUN) are both basic materials companies, but which is the superior investment? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their institutional ownership, risk, analyst recommendations, profitability, earnings, dividends and valuation.

Dividends

Air Liquide pays an annual dividend of $0.48 per share and has a dividend yield of 1.1%. Huntsman pays an annual dividend of $0.35 per share and has a dividend yield of 2.8%. Huntsman pays out -21.3% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Huntsman has raised its dividend for 4 consecutive years. Huntsman is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and longer track record of dividend growth.

Risk & Volatility

Air Liquide has a beta of 0.8, meaning that its stock price is 20% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Huntsman has a beta of 0.59, meaning that its stock price is 41% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Profitability

This table compares Air Liquide and Huntsman’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Air Liquide	N/A	N/A	N/A
Huntsman	-5.00%	-3.97%	-1.70%

Analyst Ratings

This is a breakdown of recent ratings and price targets for Air Liquide and Huntsman, as reported by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Air Liquide	1	2	1	1	2.40
Huntsman	4	8	1	1	1.93

Huntsman has a consensus target price of $12.41, indicating a potential downside of 1.16%. Given Huntsman’s higher possible upside, analysts clearly believe Huntsman is more favorable than Air Liquide.

Valuation and Earnings

This table compares Air Liquide and Huntsman”s gross revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Air Liquide	$30.47 billion	3.99	$3.98 billion	N/A	N/A
Huntsman	$5.68 billion	0.38	-$284.00 million	($1.64)	-7.66

Air Liquide has higher revenue and earnings than Huntsman.

Institutional & Insider Ownership

0.0% of Air Liquide shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 84.8% of Huntsman shares are held by institutional investors. 6.8% of Huntsman shares are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, endowments and hedge funds believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Summary

Air Liquide beats Huntsman on 8 of the 14 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Air Liquide

L'Air Liquide S.A. provides gases, technologies, and services for the industrial and health sectors in Europe, the Americas, the Asia Pacific, the Middle East, and Africa. It operates in Gas & Services, Engineering & Construction, and Global Markets & Technologies segments. The Gas & Services segment comprises large industries business, which offers gas and energy solutions including oxygen, nitrogen, argon, hydrogen, and carbon monoxide, as well as operates cogeneration plants to supply steam and electricity to metals, chemicals, refining, and energy industries; and industrial merchant business line provides industrial gases, equipment, hardgoods, and associated services to materials and energy, automotive and manufacturing, food and pharmaceuticals, technology and research, and craftsmen and retail sectors. This segment also includes healthcare business, which provides medical gases, home healthcare services, medical equipment, and specialty ingredient to patients, healthcare professionals, and hospitals; and electronic business supply carrier gases, electronic specialty and advanced materials, equipment and installation, and service to semiconductor, flat panel, and photovoltaic markets. The Engineering & Construction segment designs, develops, and builds industrial gas production plants to third parties; and design and manufacture plants in traditional, renewable and alternative energy sectors. The Global Markets & Technologies segment delivers technological solutions, such as molecules, equipment, and services to energy transition and deep technology. This segment also invests in and operates biomethane production units; designs hydrogen refueling stations; and supplies gases for the offshore oil and gas platforms, offshore wind turbines, and cryogenic transportation by sea. L'Air Liquide S.A. was incorporated in 1902 and is headquartered in Paris, France.

About Huntsman

Huntsman Corporation manufactures and sells diversified organic chemical products worldwide. The company operates in three segments: Polyurethanes, Performance Products, and Advanced Materials. The Polyurethanes segment offers polyurethane chemicals, including methyl diphenyl diisocyanate, polyether and polyester polyols, and thermoplastic polyurethane; and aniline, benzene, nitrobenzene and other co-products. The Performance Products segment manufactures amines, such as polyetheramines, ethyleneamines, DGA Agent, JEFFCAT catalysts, and E-GRADE specialty amines and carbonates; and maleic anhydrides. The Advanced Materials segment offers epoxy, phenoxy, acrylic, polyurethane, and acrylonitrile-butadiene-based polymer formulations; and thermoset resins, curing and toughening agents, and carbon nanomaterials. The company provides pre-and post-sales technical service support to customers. Its products are used in a range of applications, including adhesives, aerospace, automotive, construction products, durable and non-durable consumer products, electronics, insulation, packaging, coatings and construction, power generation, and refining, as well as serves the elastomers, insulation, footwear, furniture, industrial, oil and gas, liquid natural gas transport, printed circuit boards, consumer, appliances, electrical power transmission and distribution, recreational sports equipment, and medical appliances markets. The company sells its products through a network of distributors and agents. Huntsman Corporation was founded in 1970 and is headquartered in The Woodlands, Texas.