Head to Head Contrast: LyondellBasell Industries (NYSE:LYB) and Tokuyama (OTCMKTS:TKYMY)

LyondellBasell Industries (NYSE:LYB) and Tokuyama (OTCMKTS:TKYMY) are both basic materials companies, but which is the superior stock? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their risk, earnings, analyst recommendations, institutional ownership, valuation, dividends and profitability.

Institutional & Insider Ownership

71.2% of LyondellBasell Industries shares are held by institutional investors. 0.1% of LyondellBasell Industries shares are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, large money managers and endowments believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.

Dividends

LyondellBasell Industries pays an annual dividend of $5.48 per share and has a dividend yield of 8.6%. Tokuyama pays an annual dividend of $0.23 per share and has a dividend yield of 2.1%. LyondellBasell Industries pays out 169.1% of its earnings in the form of a dividend, suggesting it may not have sufficient earnings to cover its dividend payment in the future. Tokuyama pays out 21.7% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. LyondellBasell Industries has raised its dividend for 14 consecutive years. LyondellBasell Industries is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and longer track record of dividend growth.

Profitability

This table compares LyondellBasell Industries and Tokuyama’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
LyondellBasell Industries	2.81%	13.19%	4.71%
Tokuyama	6.80%	8.08%	4.57%

Earnings & Valuation

This table compares LyondellBasell Industries and Tokuyama”s top-line revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
LyondellBasell Industries	$40.30 billion	0.51	$1.37 billion	$3.24	19.57
Tokuyama	$2.25 billion	0.69	$153.59 million	$1.06	10.19

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

Risk and Volatility

LyondellBasell Industries has a beta of 0.82, meaning that its share price is 18% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Tokuyama has a beta of 0.13, meaning that its share price is 87% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Analyst Ratings

This is a summary of current ratings and price targets for LyondellBasell Industries and Tokuyama, as reported by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
LyondellBasell Industries	2	10	2	1	2.13
Tokuyama	0	0	0	0	0.00

LyondellBasell Industries presently has a consensus target price of $67.38, indicating a potential upside of 6.29%. Given LyondellBasell Industries’ stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, analysts clearly believe LyondellBasell Industries is more favorable than Tokuyama.

Summary

LyondellBasell Industries beats Tokuyama on 15 of the 18 factors compared between the two stocks.

About LyondellBasell Industries

LyondellBasell Industries N.V. operates as a chemical company in the United States, Germany, Mexico, Italy, Poland, France, Japan, China, the Netherlands, and internationally. The company operates in six segments: Olefins and PolyolefinsAmericas; Olefins and PolyolefinsEurope, Asia, International; Intermediates and Derivatives; Advanced Polymer Solutions; Refining; and Technology. It produces and markets olefins and co-products, polyethylene, and polypropylene; and propylene oxide and derivatives; oxyfuels and related products; and intermediate chemicals, such as styrene monomer, acetyls, ethylene oxide, and ethylene glycol. In addition, the company produce and markets compounding and solutions including polypropylene compounds, engineered plastics, masterbatches, engineered composites, colors and powders, and advanced polymers including catalloy and polybutene-1; and refines heavy, high-sulfur crude oil and other crude oils, as well as refined products, including gasoline and distillates. Further, it develops and licenses chemical and polyolefin process technologies; manufactures and sells polyolefin catalysts; and serves food packaging, home furnishings, automotive components, and paints and coatings applications. LyondellBasell Industries N.V. was incorporated in 2009 and is headquartered in Houston, Texas.

About Tokuyama

Tokuyama Corporation produces and sells various chemical products in Japan. The company operates through six segments: Chemicals, Cement, Electronics and Advanced Materials, Life Science, Eco Business, and Others. The Chemicals segment offers caustic soda, soda ash, calcium chloride, sodium silicate cullet, sodium bicarbonate, purified, vinyl chloride monomer, polyvinyl chloride resin, propylene oxide, methylene chloride, and chloroform. The Cement segment provides cement, ready-mixed concrete, and cement-type stabilizer, as well as engages in the resource recycling business. The Electronic and Advanced Materials segment provides polycrystalline silicon; fumed silica and tetrachlorosilane; aluminum nitride; high-purity chemicals for electronics manufacturing and photoresist developer; and isopropyl alcohol. The Life Science segment provides medical diagnosis systems, dental materials and equipment, pharmaceutical ingredients and intermediates, plastic lens-related materials for glasses, and microporous film. The Eco Business segment offers plastic window sashes, ion exchange membranes, as well as engages in waste gypsum board recycling activity. The company was formerly known as Tokuyama Soda Co., Ltd. and changed its name to Tokuyama Corporation in April 1994. Tokuyama Corporation was incorporated in 1918 and is headquartered in Tokyo, Japan.