Financial Survey: Quaker Houghton (NYSE:KWR) vs. TOR Minerals International (OTCMKTS:TORM)

Quaker Houghton (NYSE:KWR) and TOR Minerals International (OTCMKTS:TORM) are both materials companies, but which is the superior stock? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their analyst recommendations, risk, earnings, profitability, dividends, valuation and institutional ownership.

Analyst Ratings

This is a summary of current recommendations for Quaker Houghton and TOR Minerals International, as provided by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Quaker Houghton	0	2	4	0	2.67
TOR Minerals International	0	0	0	0	0.00

Quaker Houghton currently has a consensus target price of $187.67, suggesting a potential upside of 11.26%. Given Quaker Houghton’s stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, equities analysts plainly believe Quaker Houghton is more favorable than TOR Minerals International.

Profitability

This table compares Quaker Houghton and TOR Minerals International’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Quaker Houghton	4.94%	9.55%	4.66%
TOR Minerals International	-2.53%	-5.25%	-4.25%

Risk and Volatility

Quaker Houghton has a beta of 1.4, indicating that its stock price is 40% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, TOR Minerals International has a beta of 0.25, indicating that its stock price is 75% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Valuation and Earnings

This table compares Quaker Houghton and TOR Minerals International”s gross revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Quaker Houghton	$1.98 billion	1.47	-$2.49 million	$5.61	30.07
TOR Minerals International	$22.08 million	0.39	-$990,000.00	($0.01)	-242.00

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

Insider and Institutional Ownership

77.5% of Quaker Houghton shares are owned by institutional investors. 1.0% of Quaker Houghton shares are owned by company insiders. Comparatively, 42.1% of TOR Minerals International shares are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, hedge funds and large money managers believe a stock will outperform the market over the long term.

Summary

Quaker Houghton beats TOR Minerals International on 12 of the 14 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Quaker Houghton

Quaker Chemical Corporation, together with its subsidiaries, develops, produces, and markets various formulated specialty chemical products for a range of heavy industrial and manufacturing applications in the Americas, Europe, the Middle East, Africa, and the Asia Pacific. It offers metal removal fluids, cleaning fluids, corrosion inhibitors, metal drawing and forming fluids, die-cast mold releases, heat treatment and quenchants, metal forging fluids, hydraulic fluids, specialty greases, offshore sub-sea energy control fluids, rolling lubricants, rod and wire drawing fluids, and surface treatment chemicals. The company also provides chemical management services. It serves steel, aluminum, automotive, aerospace, offshore, container, mining, and metalworking companies. The company was founded in 1918 and is headquartered in Conshohocken, Pennsylvania.

About TOR Minerals International

TOR Minerals International, Inc. produces and sells specialty mineral products in the United States, Europe, and Asia. The company offers alumina trihydrate and boehmite halogen-free flame retardant and smoke suppressant fillers for plastics, rubber, and specialty applications; and beige and gray colored titanium dioxide (TiO2) pigments for use in paints, coatings, plastics, paper, and various other products. It also provides white TiO2, a pigment to add whiteness and opacity to paints and coatings, plastics, and other materials; and engineered fillers for use in plastics, paints, coatings, catalysts, and industrial products. The company was founded in 1973 and is headquartered in Corpus Christi, Texas.