Critical Contrast: Shin-Etsu Chemical (OTCMKTS:SHECY) & Johnson Matthey (OTCMKTS:JMPLY)

Johnson Matthey (OTCMKTS:JMPLY) and Shin-Etsu Chemical (OTCMKTS:SHECY) are both basic materials companies, but which is the superior investment? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their risk, analyst recommendations, earnings, valuation, profitability, dividends and institutional ownership.

Volatility and Risk

Johnson Matthey has a beta of 1, indicating that its share price has a similar volatility profile to the S&P 500.Comparatively, Shin-Etsu Chemical has a beta of 1.35, indicating that its share price is 35% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Institutional and Insider Ownership

0.0% of Shin-Etsu Chemical shares are held by institutional investors. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, hedge funds and endowments believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a breakdown of recent recommendations for Johnson Matthey and Shin-Etsu Chemical, as reported by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Johnson Matthey	0	3	0	2	2.80
Shin-Etsu Chemical	0	1	0	0	2.00

Valuation & Earnings

This table compares Johnson Matthey and Shin-Etsu Chemical”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	$14.89 billion	0.36	$475.91 million	N/A	N/A
Shin-Etsu Chemical	$16.82 billion	4.04	$3.56 billion	$0.87	19.68

Shin-Etsu Chemical has higher revenue and earnings than Johnson Matthey.

Dividends

Johnson Matthey pays an annual dividend of $1.11 per share and has a dividend yield of 1.8%. Shin-Etsu Chemical pays an annual dividend of $0.23 per share and has a dividend yield of 1.3%. Shin-Etsu Chemical pays out 26.4% of its earnings in the form of a dividend.

Profitability

This table compares Johnson Matthey and Shin-Etsu Chemical’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
Shin-Etsu Chemical	19.32%	10.77%	9.06%

Summary

Shin-Etsu Chemical beats Johnson Matthey on 8 of the 12 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 Shin-Etsu Chemical

Shin-Etsu Chemical Co., Ltd. provides infrastructure, electronics, and functional materials in Japan. It is also involved in processing and specialized related services. The company operates through Infrastructure Materials; Electronics Materials; Functional Materials; and Processing and Specialized Services segments. In addition, it offers cellulose derivatives, synthetic pheromones, aroma chemicals, dielectric and LED/ semiconductor materials, silanes, photoresists, chlorides, caustic soda, liquid fluoroelastomers, polyvinyl chloride and vinyl acetate resin, silicones, and silicones processed goods. Further, the company offers pellicles, photomask blanks, synthetic quartz/ quartz cloth, pyrolytic boron nitride, LIB anode material, and silicon metal. Additionally, it provides rare earth magnets, compound semiconductors, and oxide single crystals. The company was formerly known as Shin-Etsu Nitrogen Fertilizer Co., Ltd. and changed its name to Shin-Etsu Chemical Co., Ltd. in 1940. Shin-Etsu Chemical Co., Ltd. was incorporated in 1926 and is headquartered in Tokyo, Japan.