Financial Comparison: Johnson Matthey (OTCMKTS:JMPLY) & Avient (NYSE:AVNT)

Johnson Matthey (OTCMKTS:JMPLY) and Avient (NYSE:AVNT) are both mid-cap basic materials companies, but which is the superior stock? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their profitability, analyst recommendations, institutional ownership, risk, valuation, earnings and dividends.

Risk & Volatility

Johnson Matthey has a beta of 1.14, meaning that its stock price is 14% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Avient has a beta of 1.28, meaning that its stock price is 28% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Dividends

Johnson Matthey pays an annual dividend of $1.16 per share and has a dividend yield of 2.0%. Avient pays an annual dividend of $1.10 per share and has a dividend yield of 3.2%. Avient pays out 64.0% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Avient has raised its dividend for 1 consecutive years. Avient is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and longer track record of dividend growth.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a summary of current ratings and price targets for Johnson Matthey and Avient, as reported by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Johnson Matthey	1	2	1	2	2.67
Avient	0	4	2	0	2.33

Avient has a consensus price target of $46.40, indicating a potential upside of 36.62%. Given Avient’s higher possible upside, analysts clearly believe Avient is more favorable than Johnson Matthey.

Profitability

This table compares Johnson Matthey and Avient’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Johnson Matthey	N/A	N/A	N/A
Avient	4.81%	11.11%	4.40%

Insider & Institutional Ownership

95.5% of Avient shares are held by institutional investors. 0.9% of Avient shares are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, large money managers and endowments believe a company will outperform the market over the long term.

Valuation and Earnings

This table compares Johnson Matthey and Avient”s top-line revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Johnson Matthey	$16.85 billion	0.29	-$128.69 million	N/A	N/A
Avient	$3.26 billion	0.96	$81.90 million	$1.72	19.75

Avient has lower revenue, but higher earnings than Johnson Matthey.

Summary

Avient beats Johnson Matthey on 12 of the 16 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Johnson Matthey

Johnson Matthey is a global leader in science that enables a cleaner and healthier world. With over 200 years of sustained commitment to innovation and technological breakthroughs, they improve the function, performance and safety of their customers’ products. Their science has a global impact in areas such as low emission transport, pharmaceuticals, chemical processing and making the most efficient use of the planet’s natural resources. Today more than 13,000 Johnson Matthey professionals collaborate with their network of customers and partners to make a real difference to the world around us.

About Avient

Avient Corporation operates as a formulator of material solutions in the United States, Canada, Mexico, Europe, South America, and Asia. It operates in two segments, Color, Additives and Inks; and Specialty Engineered Materials. The Color, Additives and Inks segment offers custom color and additive concentrates in solid and liquid form for thermoplastics, dispersions for thermosets, and specialty inks; custom-formulated liquid system, such as polyester, vinyl, natural rubber and latex, polyurethane, and silicone; and proprietary inks. Its products are used in medical and pharmaceutical devices, food packaging, personal care and cosmetics, transportation, building products, wire and cable, recreational and athletic apparel, construction and filtration, outdoor furniture, healthcare, textiles and appliances, and industrial markets. The Specialty Engineered Materials segment provides specialty polymer formulations, services, and solutions for designers, assemblers, and processors of thermoplastic materials. It sells its products through direct sales personnel, distributors, and commissioned sales agents. The company was formerly known as PolyOne Corporation and changed its name to Avient Corporation in June 2020. Avient Corporation was founded in 1885 and is headquartered in Avon Lake, Ohio.