Financial Analysis: Celanese (NYSE:CE) & ICL Group (NYSE:ICL)

ICL Group (NYSE:ICL) and Celanese (NYSE:CE) are both mid-cap materials companies, but which is the superior stock? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their dividends, analyst recommendations, profitability, earnings, risk, institutional ownership and valuation.

Insider & Institutional Ownership

13.4% of ICL Group shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 98.9% of Celanese shares are owned by institutional investors. 0.3% of Celanese shares are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, hedge funds and endowments believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.

Analyst Ratings

This is a summary of recent ratings and recommmendations for ICL Group and Celanese, as provided by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
ICL Group	0	2	0	0	2.00
Celanese	1	7	9	0	2.47

ICL Group presently has a consensus price target of $6.00, indicating a potential upside of 2.39%. Celanese has a consensus price target of $63.71, indicating a potential upside of 42.19%. Given Celanese’s stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, analysts clearly believe Celanese is more favorable than ICL Group.

Profitability

This table compares ICL Group and Celanese’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
ICL Group	3.95%	8.40%	4.19%
Celanese	-12.04%	13.04%	2.69%

Earnings and Valuation

This table compares ICL Group and Celanese”s gross revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
ICL Group	$7.15 billion	1.06	$226.00 million	$0.24	24.42
Celanese	$9.54 billion	0.52	-$1.17 billion	($10.69)	-4.19

ICL Group has higher earnings, but lower revenue than Celanese. Celanese is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than ICL Group, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Dividends

ICL Group pays an annual dividend of $0.17 per share and has a dividend yield of 2.9%. Celanese pays an annual dividend of $0.12 per share and has a dividend yield of 0.3%. ICL Group pays out 70.8% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Celanese pays out -1.1% 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.

Volatility & Risk

ICL Group has a beta of 0.98, suggesting that its stock price is 2% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Celanese has a beta of 0.76, suggesting that its stock price is 24% less volatile than the S&P 500.

About ICL Group

ICL Group Ltd, together with its subsidiaries, operates as a specialty minerals and chemicals company worldwide. It operates in four segments: Industrial Products, Potash, Phosphate Solutions, and Growing Solutions. The Industrial Products segment produces bromine out of a solution that is a by-product of the potash production process, as well as bromine-based compounds; produces various grades of potash, salt, magnesium chloride, and magnesia products; and produces and markets phosphorous-based flame retardants and other phosphorus-based products. The Potash segment extracts potash from the Dead Sea; mines and produces potash and salt; produces polysulphate; produces, markets, and sells magnesium and magnesium alloys, as well as related by-products, including chlorine and sylvinite; and sells salt. The Phosphate Solutions segment uses phosphate commodity products to produce specialty products; produces and markets phosphate-based fertilizers, as well as sulphuric acid, green phosphoric acid, and phosphate fertilizers; and manufactures thermal phosphoric acid for various industrial end markets, such as oral care, cleaning products, paints and coatings, water treatment, asphalt modification, construction, and metal treatment. It also develops and produces functional food ingredients and phosphate additives for use in the processed meat, poultry, seafood, dairy, beverage, and baked goods markets; and produces milk and whey proteins for the food ingredients industry. The Growing Solutions segment develops, manufactures, markets, and sells fertilizers based primarily on nitrogen, potash, and phosphate, including water soluble specialty, liquid, soluble, and controlled-release fertilizers. It sells its products through marketing companies, agents, and distributors. The company was formerly known as Israel Chemicals Ltd. and changed its name to ICL Group Ltd in May 2020. The company was founded in 1968 and is headquartered in Tel Aviv, Israel.

About Celanese

Celanese Corporation, a chemical and specialty materials company, manufactures and sells high performance engineered polymers in the United States and internationally. It operates through Engineered Materials and Acetyl Chain. The Engineered Materials segment develops, produces, and supplies specialty polymers for automotive and medical applications, as well as for use in industrial products and consumer electronics. The Acetyl Chain segment produces and supplies acetyl products, including acetic acid, vinyl acetate monomers, acetic anhydride, and acetate esters that are used as starting materials for colorants, paints, adhesives, coatings, and pharmaceuticals; and organic solvents and intermediates for pharmaceutical, agricultural, and chemical products. It also offers vinyl acetate-based emulsions for use in paints and coatings, adhesives, construction, glass fiber, textiles, and paper applications; and ethylene vinyl acetate resins and compounds, as well as low-density polyethylene for use in flexible packaging films, lamination film products, hot melt adhesives, automotive parts, and carpeting applications. In addition, it provides redispersible powders (RDP) for use in construction applications, including flooring, plasters, insulation, tiling, and waterproofing. Celanese Corporation was founded in 1918 and is headquartered in Irving, Texas.