Reviewing Arkema (OTCMKTS:ARKAY) and Marui Group (OTCMKTS:MAURY)

Marui Group (OTCMKTS:MAURY) and Arkema (OTCMKTS:ARKAY) are both retail/wholesale companies, but which is the superior investment? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their profitability, institutional ownership, dividends, risk, analyst recommendations, earnings and valuation.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a summary of current ratings and price targets for Marui Group and Arkema, as provided by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Marui Group	0	0	0	0	N/A
Arkema	0	0	1	0	3.00

Dividends

Marui Group pays an annual dividend of $1.00 per share and has a dividend yield of 3.3%. Arkema pays an annual dividend of $3.10 per share and has a dividend yield of 3.0%. Marui Group pays out 65.4% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Arkema pays out 53.4% 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.

Valuation and Earnings

This table compares Marui Group and Arkema’s top-line revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Marui Group	$1.61 billion	N/A	$158.90 million	$1.53	19.93
Arkema	$10.30 billion	0.74	$452.36 million	$5.80	17.55

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

Profitability

This table compares Marui Group and Arkema’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Marui Group	9.01%	7.93%	1.96%
Arkema	4.40%	8.92%	4.76%

Risk and Volatility

Marui Group has a beta of 0.43, suggesting that its stock price is 57% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Arkema has a beta of 1.37, suggesting that its stock price is 37% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Summary

Arkema beats Marui Group on 8 of the 11 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Marui Group

Marui Group Co., Ltd., an investment holding company, engages in the retailing and FinTech businesses in Japan. The company engages in the design and construction of commercial facilities; advertising planning and production; property management; rental of real estate properties; small-amount short-term insurance policy business; and sale of investment trusts. It is also involved in the operation of websites; contract store opening and operation services; provision of credit card services; operation of Marui/Modi stores; investing and financing direct-to-consumer businesses; internet sales; specialty store; credit loan; collection and management of receivables; credit check; trucking and forwarding; software development; and operation of IT systems, and building management businesses. The company was founded in 1931 and is headquartered in Tokyo, Japan.

About Arkema

Arkema S.A. manufactures and sells specialty chemicals and advanced materials worldwide. The company operates in three segments: Adhesive Solutions, Advanced Materials and Coating Solutions, and Intermediates. The Adhesive Solutions segment provides solutions for construction, renovation of buildings, DIY, durable goods, and packaging and non-woven applications; and supplies technologies used in building activities for businesses and individuals, including sealants, tiles, flooring adhesives and waterproofing systems, and technologies used in industry, which include automotive, textiles, glazing, flexible and rigid packaging, and hygiene markets. This segment also offers performance polymers, such as specialty polyamides, PVDF, polyimides, fluorospecialties, and polyetherketoneketone; and performance additives which includes molecular sieves, organic peroxides, thiochemicals, and hydrogen peroxide. The Advance Materials and Coating Solutions segment offers coating solutions, including comprising EU/US acrylics and coating resins; coating additives, such as sartomer photocure resins and coatex rheology additives. This segment also provides decorative paints, industrial coatings, and adhesives; and solutions for applications in the paper, superabsorbent, water treatment and oil and gas extraction, and 3D printing and electronics industries. The Intermediates segment provides fluorogases and acrylics; and industrial intermediate chemicals used in construction, refrigeration and air conditioning, automotive, coatings, and water treatment sectors. Arkema S.A. was incorporated in 2003 and is headquartered in Colombes, France.