Head to Head Survey: Avient (NYSE:AVNT) and Brenntag (OTCMKTS:BNTGY)

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

Institutional & Insider Ownership

95.5% of Avient shares are held by institutional investors. 0.9% of Avient shares are held 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.

Profitability

This table compares Brenntag and Avient’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Brenntag	2.66%	9.14%	3.69%
Avient	2.51%	10.95%	4.31%

Analyst Recommendations

This is a summary of current recommendations and price targets for Brenntag and Avient, as provided by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Brenntag	3	6	0	0	1.67
Avient	0	4	3	0	2.43

Brenntag currently has a consensus price target of $12.80, indicating a potential upside of 2.89%. Avient has a consensus price target of $47.00, indicating a potential upside of 14.49%. Given Avient’s stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, analysts clearly believe Avient is more favorable than Brenntag.

Volatility & Risk

Brenntag has a beta of 0.75, suggesting that its share price is 25% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Avient has a beta of 1.4, suggesting that its share price is 40% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Valuation & Earnings

This table compares Brenntag and Avient”s top-line revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Brenntag	$17.57 billion	0.51	$580.22 million	$0.64	19.44
Avient	$3.26 billion	1.15	$81.90 million	$0.89	46.12

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

Dividends

Brenntag pays an annual dividend of $0.28 per share and has a dividend yield of 2.3%. Avient pays an annual dividend of $1.10 per share and has a dividend yield of 2.7%. Brenntag pays out 43.8% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Avient pays out 123.6% of its earnings in the form of a dividend, suggesting it may not have sufficient earnings to cover its dividend payment in the future. Avient has raised its dividend for 1 consecutive years. Avient is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and longer track record of dividend growth.

Summary

Avient beats Brenntag on 13 of the 17 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 Avient

Avient Corporation operates as a formulator of material solutions in the United States, Canada, Mexico, Europe, South America, and Asia. It operates in two segments, Color, Additives and Inks; and Specialty Engineered Materials. The Color, Additives and Inks segment offers custom color and additive concentrates in solid and liquid form for thermoplastics, dispersions for thermosets, and specialty inks; custom-formulated liquid system, such as polyester, vinyl, natural rubber and latex, polyurethane, and silicone; and proprietary inks. Its products are used in medical and pharmaceutical devices, food packaging, personal care and cosmetics, transportation, building products, wire and cable, recreational and athletic apparel, construction and filtration, outdoor furniture, healthcare, textiles and appliances, and industrial markets. The Specialty Engineered Materials segment provides specialty polymer formulations, services, and solutions for designers, assemblers, and processors of thermoplastic materials. It sells its products through direct sales personnel, distributors, and commissioned sales agents. The company was formerly known as PolyOne Corporation and changed its name to Avient Corporation in June 2020. Avient Corporation was founded in 1885 and is headquartered in Avon Lake, Ohio.