Reviewing Brenntag (OTCMKTS:BNTGY) & 5N Plus (OTCMKTS:FPLSF)

Brenntag (OTCMKTS:BNTGY) and 5N Plus (OTCMKTS:FPLSF) are both basic materials companies, but which is the superior investment? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their profitability, dividends, risk, earnings, institutional ownership, analyst recommendations and valuation.

Risk & Volatility

Brenntag has a beta of 0.93, meaning that its share price is 7% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, 5N Plus has a beta of 1.82, meaning that its share price is 82% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Analyst Ratings

This is a summary of current ratings and recommmendations for Brenntag and 5N Plus, as reported by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Brenntag	1	3	0	0	1.75
5N Plus	0	0	0	0	0.00

Profitability

This table compares Brenntag and 5N Plus’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Brenntag	3.36%	12.24%	4.99%
5N Plus	5.63%	13.82%	5.07%

Institutional and Insider Ownership

0.1% of 5N Plus shares are owned by institutional investors. 3.9% of 5N Plus shares are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, endowments and large money managers believe a stock will outperform the market over the long term.

Earnings and Valuation

This table compares Brenntag and 5N Plus”s top-line revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Brenntag	$18.20 billion	0.53	$773.74 million	$0.79	17.03
5N Plus	$242.37 million	2.20	$15.40 million	$0.24	25.00

Brenntag has higher revenue and earnings than 5N Plus. Brenntag is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than 5N Plus, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Summary

5N Plus beats Brenntag on 8 of the 12 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Brenntag

Brenntag SE purchases and supplies various industrial and specialty chemicals, and ingredients in Germany, Europe, the Middle East, Africa, the Americas, and the Asia Pacific. The company operates in two segments, Brenntag Essentials and Brenntag Specialties. It provides just-in-time delivery, product mixing, blending, repackaging, inventory management, and drum return handling. The company serves customers in various end-market industries, including nutrition, pharma, personal care, water treatment, and lubricants; and home, industrial, and institutional markets, as well as coatings and constructions, polymers, and rubber industries. The company was founded in 1874 and is based in Essen, Germany.

About 5N Plus

5N Plus Inc. produces and sells specialty metals and chemicals in North America, Europe, and Asia. It operates through two segments, Specialty Semiconductors and Performance Materials. The company offers semiconductor compounds, semiconductor wafers, metals, epitaxial semiconductor substrates, and solar cells. It also provides active pharmaceutical ingredients, animal feed additives, specialized chemicals, commercial grade metals, alloys, engineered powders, and recycling services. The company serves renewable energy, security, space, pharmaceutical, medical imaging, manufacturing, electronic, consumer, and industrial application markets. 5N Plus Inc. is headquartered in Montreal, Canada.