Contrasting Nutrien (NYSE:NTR) and Koppers (NYSE:KOP)

Nutrien (NYSE:NTR) and Koppers (NYSE:KOP) are both materials companies, but which is the better business? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their analyst recommendations, profitability, institutional ownership, risk, dividends, valuation and earnings.

Profitability

This table compares Nutrien and Koppers’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Nutrien	8.44%	8.88%	4.27%
Koppers	-4.59%	14.98%	4.17%

Valuation & Earnings

This table compares Nutrien and Koppers”s gross revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Nutrien	$28.20 billion	1.15	$2.27 billion	$4.94	13.78
Koppers	$1.88 billion	0.41	$56.00 million	($4.72)	-8.74

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

Volatility & Risk

Nutrien has a beta of 0.68, meaning that its share price is 32% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Koppers has a beta of 1.23, meaning that its share price is 23% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Analyst Ratings

This is a summary of recent ratings and recommmendations for Nutrien and Koppers, as provided by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Nutrien	1	5	16	0	2.68
Koppers	1	1	1	1	2.50

Nutrien currently has a consensus price target of $79.90, indicating a potential upside of 17.36%. Koppers has a consensus price target of $55.00, indicating a potential upside of 33.38%. Given Koppers’ higher probable upside, analysts clearly believe Koppers is more favorable than Nutrien.

Insider and Institutional Ownership

63.1% of Nutrien shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 92.7% of Koppers shares are owned by institutional investors. 3.1% of Nutrien shares are owned by company insiders. Comparatively, 7.3% of Koppers shares are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, hedge funds and large money managers believe a company will outperform the market over the long term.

Dividends

Nutrien pays an annual dividend of $2.20 per share and has a dividend yield of 3.2%. Koppers pays an annual dividend of $0.36 per share and has a dividend yield of 0.9%. Nutrien pays out 44.5% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Koppers pays out -7.6% 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. Nutrien has raised its dividend for 7 consecutive years and Koppers has raised its dividend for 2 consecutive years. Nutrien is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and longer track record of dividend growth.

Summary

Nutrien beats Koppers on 11 of the 18 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Nutrien

Nutrien Ltd. provides crop inputs and services. The company operates through four segments: Retail, Potash, Nitrogen, and Phosphate. The Retail segment distributes crop nutrients, crop protection products, seeds, and merchandise products. The Potash segment provides granular and standard potash products. The Nitrogen segment offers ammonia, urea, environmentally smart nitrogen, nitrogen solutions, nitrates, and sulfates. The Phosphate segment provides solid fertilizer, liquid fertilizer, and industrial and feed products. In addition, it provides services directly to growers through a network of farm centers in North America, South America, and Australia. The company is headquartered in Saskatoon, Canada.

About Koppers

Koppers Holdings Inc. provides treated wood products, wood preservation chemicals, and carbon compounds in the United States, Australasia, Europe, and internationally. The company operates through Railroad and Utility Products and Services (RUPS), Performance Chemicals (PC), and Carbon Materials and Chemicals (CMC) segments. The RUPS segment procures and treats crossties, switch ties, and various types of lumber used for railroad bridges and crossings. It also provides rail joint bars to join rails together for railroads; transmission and distribution poles for electric and telephone utilities; and pilings. This segment provides railroad services, such as engineering, design, repair, and inspection services for railroad bridges. The PC segment develops, manufactures, and markets copper-based wood preservatives, including micronized copper azole, micronized pigments, alkaline copper quaternary, amine copper azole, and chromated copper arsenate for decking, fencing, utility poles, construction lumber and timbers, and various agricultural uses; and supplies fire-retardant chemicals for pressure treatment of wood primarily in commercial construction. The CMC segment manufactures creosote for the treatment of wood or as a feedstock in the production of carbon black; carbon pitch, a raw material used in the production of aluminum and steel; naphthalene for use as a feedstock in the production of phthalic anhydride and as a surfactant in the production of concrete; phthalic anhydride for the production of plasticizers, polyester resins, and alkyd paints; and carbon black feedstock for use in the production of carbon black. It serves the railroad, specialty chemical, utility, residential lumber, agriculture, aluminum, steel, rubber, and construction sectors. Koppers Holdings Inc. was founded in 1988 and is based in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.