Suzano (NYSE:SUZ) vs. Stora Enso Oyj (OTCMKTS:SEOAY) Financial Review

Stora Enso Oyj (OTCMKTS:SEOAY) and Suzano (NYSE:SUZ) are both basic materials companies, but which is the superior investment? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their valuation, analyst recommendations, institutional ownership, earnings, dividends, profitability and risk.

Profitability

This table compares Stora Enso Oyj and Suzano’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Stora Enso Oyj	0.14%	-2.62%	-1.33%
Suzano	13.03%	16.39%	4.05%

Insider & Institutional Ownership

0.0% of Stora Enso Oyj shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 2.6% of Suzano shares are owned by institutional investors. 8.1% of Stora Enso Oyj shares are owned by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, endowments and hedge funds believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.

Valuation & Earnings

This table compares Stora Enso Oyj and Suzano”s gross revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Stora Enso Oyj	$9.79 billion	0.89	-$146.08 million	$0.01	1,108.00
Suzano	$8.79 billion	1.34	-$1.31 billion	$0.96	9.28

Stora Enso Oyj has higher revenue and earnings than Suzano. Suzano is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Stora Enso Oyj, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Volatility & Risk

Stora Enso Oyj has a beta of 0.8, meaning that its share price is 20% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Suzano has a beta of 0.84, meaning that its share price is 16% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Dividends

Stora Enso Oyj pays an annual dividend of $0.12 per share and has a dividend yield of 1.1%. Suzano pays an annual dividend of $0.26 per share and has a dividend yield of 2.9%. Stora Enso Oyj pays out 1,200.0% of its earnings in the form of a dividend, suggesting it may not have sufficient earnings to cover its dividend payment in the future. Suzano pays out 27.1% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Suzano is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and lower payout ratio.

Analyst Ratings

This is a breakdown of current recommendations and price targets for Stora Enso Oyj and Suzano, as reported by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Stora Enso Oyj	1	3	0	0	1.75
Suzano	0	1	1	2	3.25

Stora Enso Oyj presently has a consensus target price of $10.80, suggesting a potential downside of 2.53%. Given Stora Enso Oyj’s higher possible upside, equities analysts plainly believe Stora Enso Oyj is more favorable than Suzano.

Summary

Suzano beats Stora Enso Oyj on 12 of the 17 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Stora Enso Oyj

Stora Enso Oyj provides renewable solutions for the packaging, biomaterials, wooden constructions, and paper industries in Finland and internationally. It operates through Packaging Materials, Packaging Solutions, Biomaterials, Wood Products, Forest, Paper, and Other segments. The company's Packaging Materials segment offers virgin and recycled fiber replace fossil-based materials with low-carbon, renewable and recyclable packaging materials for food and beverage, pharmaceutical, and transport packaging. Its Packaging Solutions segment develops and sells fiber-based packaging products and services, including converting corrugated boards and carton boards; and new materials, such as formed fiber and wood foams into standard and bespoke packaging solutions for retail, e-commerce, and industrials. The company's Biomaterials segment provides various pulp for packaging, paper, tissue, specialties, and hygiene product producers; and tall oil and turpentine from biomass. Its Wood Products segment offers wood-based solutions, including digital tools for design and construction of building projects with wood; applications for windows and doors; and pellets for sustainable heating solutions. The company's Forest segment engages in sustainable forest management, as well as supplies wood. Its Paper segments offers portfolio of products for print and office use. The company's Other segment produces electricity and heat. It serves packaging manufacturers, brand owners, paper merchants, publishers, retailers, printing houses, converters, and construction companies. The company was incorporated in 1996 and is headquartered in Helsinki, Finland.

About Suzano

Suzano S.A. produces and sells eucalyptus pulp and paper products in Brazil and internationally. It operates through Pulp and Paper segments. The company offers coated and uncoated printing and writing papers, paperboards, tissue papers, and market and fluff pulps; and lignin. It also engages in the research, development, and production of biofuel; operation of port terminals; power generation and distribution business; commercialization of equipment and parts; industrialization, commercialization, and exporting of pulp and standing wood; road freight transport; biotechnology research and development; and commercialization of paper and computer materials. In addition, the company is involved in the business office, production packaging, and financial fundraising activities; research, development, production, commercialization, and distribution of wood-based textile fibers, yarns, and filaments produced from cellulose and microfibrillated cellulose; and research and development of wood raw materials for the textile industry. Suzano S.A. was formerly known as Suzano Papel e Celulose S.A. and changed its name to Suzano S.A. in April 2019. The company was founded in 1924 and is headquartered in Salvador, Brazil.