Comparing Minerals Technologies (NYSE:MTX) & Westlake (NYSE:WLK)

Westlake (NYSE:WLK) and Minerals Technologies (NYSE:MTX) are both mid-cap materials companies, but which is the superior stock? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their dividends, profitability, valuation, institutional ownership, risk, earnings and analyst recommendations.

Earnings & Valuation

This table compares Westlake and Minerals Technologies”s top-line revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Westlake	$11.29 billion	0.72	-$1.51 billion	($9.58)	-6.62
Minerals Technologies	$2.15 billion	0.97	-$18.40 million	($2.17)	-30.68

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

Institutional and Insider Ownership

28.4% of Westlake shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 97.3% of Minerals Technologies shares are held by institutional investors. 1.4% of Westlake shares are held by insiders. Comparatively, 3.7% of Minerals Technologies shares are held by 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.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a breakdown of current recommendations for Westlake and Minerals Technologies, as reported by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Westlake	1	10	4	0	2.20
Minerals Technologies	1	1	1	0	2.00

Westlake currently has a consensus target price of $87.50, suggesting a potential upside of 38.03%. Minerals Technologies has a consensus target price of $90.00, suggesting a potential upside of 35.18%. Given Westlake’s stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, research analysts clearly believe Westlake is more favorable than Minerals Technologies.

Profitability

This table compares Westlake and Minerals Technologies’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Westlake	-10.94%	0.93%	0.44%
Minerals Technologies	-3.13%	10.63%	5.20%

Risk & Volatility

Westlake has a beta of 0.69, suggesting that its share price is 31% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Minerals Technologies has a beta of 1.12, suggesting that its share price is 12% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Dividends

Westlake pays an annual dividend of $2.13 per share and has a dividend yield of 3.4%. Minerals Technologies pays an annual dividend of $0.48 per share and has a dividend yield of 0.7%. Westlake pays out -22.2% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Minerals Technologies pays out -22.1% 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. Westlake has raised its dividend for 21 consecutive years and Minerals Technologies has raised its dividend for 2 consecutive years. Westlake is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and longer track record of dividend growth.

Summary

Minerals Technologies beats Westlake on 9 of the 17 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Westlake

Westlake Corporation engages in the manufacture and marketing of performance and essential materials, and housing and infrastructure products in the United States, Canada, Germany, China, Mexico, Brazil, France, Italy, Taiwan, and internationally. The company operates through two segments: Performance and Essential Materials and Housing and Infrastructure Products. The Performance and Essential Materials segment offers ethylene, polyethylene, styrene, chlorinated derivative products, ethylene dichloride, vinyl chloride monomer, polyvinyl chloride (PVC), epoxy specialty resins, and base epoxy resins and intermediaries, as well as chlor-alkali, such as chlorine and caustic soda. The Housing and Infrastructure Products segment provides residential PVC sidings; PVC trim and mouldings; architectural stone veneers; windows; PVC decking; PVC films for various inflatables, wallcovering, and tape and roofing applications; polymer composite and cement roof tiles; PVC pipes and fittings for various water, sewer, electrical, and industrial applications; PVC compounds used in various housing, medical, and automobile products; and consumer and commercial products, such as landscape edging; industrial, home, and office matting; marine dock edging; and masonry joint controls. It offers its products to chemical processors, plastics fabricators, small construction contractors, municipalities, and supply warehouses for use in various consumer and industrial markets, including residential construction, flexible and rigid packaging, automotive products, healthcare products, water treatment, wind turbines, and coatings, as well as other durable and non-durable goods. The company was formerly known as Westlake Chemical Corporation and changed its name to Westlake Corporation in February 2022. Westlake Corporation was founded in 1986 and is headquartered in Houston, Texas. Westlake Corporation operates as a subsidiary of TTWF LP.

About Minerals Technologies

Minerals Technologies Inc. develops, produces, and markets various mineral, mineral-based, and related systems and services. The company operates through two segments, Consumer & Specialties, and Engineered Solutions segments. The Consumer & Specialties segment offers household and personal care products, such as pet litter, personal care, fabric care, edible oil and other fluid purification, animal health, and agricultural products; and specialty additives products, including precipitated calcium carbonate and ground calcium carbonate products that are used in the paper, paperboard, and fiber based packaging industries, as well as automotive, construction, and table and food applications. This segment produces limestone and dolomitic limestone used in construction, automotive, and consumer markets for packaging applications. The Engineered Solutions segment provides high-temperature technology products consisting of custom-blended mineral and non-mineral products for casting auto parts, farm and construction equipment, oil and gas production equipment, power generation turbine castings, and rail car components; and environmental and infrastructure products comprising geosynthetic clay lining systems, vapor intrusion mitigation products, sub surface waterproofing systems, green roofs, wastewater remediation, drinking water purification technologies, and drilling products. In addition, this segment provides chromite products; gunnable monolithic refractory products and application systems; monolithic refractory materials and pre-cast refractory shapes; refractory shapes and linings; carbon composite and pyrolitic graphite; and filtration and well testing services. It markets its products primarily through its direct sales force, as well as regional distributors. The company serves in the United States, Canada, Latin America, Europe, Africa, and Asia. Minerals Technologies Inc. was incorporated in 1968 and is headquartered in New York, New York.