Analyzing Orkla Asa (OTCMKTS:ORKLY) and Marubeni (OTCMKTS:MARUY)

Marubeni (OTCMKTS:MARUY) and Orkla Asa (OTCMKTS:ORKLY) are both large-cap industrials companies, but which is the superior investment? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their valuation, risk, dividends, analyst recommendations, institutional ownership, profitability and earnings.

Institutional & Insider Ownership

0.1% of Marubeni shares are held by institutional investors. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, large money managers and endowments believe a stock will outperform the market over the long term.

Profitability

This table compares Marubeni and Orkla Asa’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Marubeni	6.62%	13.08%	5.64%
Orkla Asa	9.63%	13.98%	7.82%

Volatility and Risk

Marubeni has a beta of 0.57, suggesting that its stock price is 43% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Orkla Asa has a beta of 0.37, suggesting that its stock price is 63% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Dividends

Marubeni pays an annual dividend of $0.56 per share and has a dividend yield of 1.8%. Orkla Asa pays an annual dividend of $0.46 per share and has a dividend yield of 4.4%. Marubeni pays out 24.6% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Orkla Asa pays out 64.8% 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.

Earnings and Valuation

This table compares Marubeni and Orkla Asa”s revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Marubeni	$54.91 billion	0.95	$3.59 billion	$2.28	13.82
Orkla Asa	$1.81 billion	5.69	$1.11 billion	$0.71	14.73

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

Analyst Recommendations

This is a summary of recent recommendations and price targets for Marubeni and Orkla Asa, as provided by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Marubeni	0	2	0	0	2.00
Orkla Asa	1	1	0	0	1.50

Summary

Marubeni beats Orkla Asa on 7 of the 13 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Marubeni

Marubeni Corporation engages in various business activities. It manufactures, wholesales, and retails apparel, footwear, home furnishing and sport goods, industrial and textile materials, tire and rubber materials, and household and nursing care products; develops uranium, nuclear fuel cycle, iron ore, coking coal, copper mines, and related equipment and services; smelts and refines aluminum and magnesium; leases temporary steel construction materials; explores for, develops, and produces oil and gas; manages infrastructure funds; and develops and manages real estate. The company also offers insurance, technical, ICT, and logistic services; agri-inputs; fertilizer and crop protection product contracting services; crop protection product formulations; wood chips, biomass fuels, pulp and waste papers, paper, paperboards, sanitary, and building and construction materials; engineering, procurement, and construction services; and operation and maintenance services. It trades in fertilizers, dairy, agricultural, and marine products; sugar, processed food, beverages raw materials, and commercial use food materials; grains, oilseeds, feed ingredients, compound feeds, fresh and processed meat, petrochemicals, plastics, salts, chlor-alkalis, life science products, electronic materials, fertilizer materials, and inorganic mineral resources and chemicals; steelmaking raw materials, ferroalloys, nonferrous metals, and steel products; cement and ingots related materials; and petroleum and LPG. The company engages in infrastructure; water; automotive finance; power generation; power service and retail; natural gas; hydrogen; and fuel ammonia businesses. It owns, purchases, operates, leases, sells, and charters aerospace and ship products; leases refrigerated trailers, commercial vehicles, and freight cars; and sells, trades in, leases, finances, and services construction and industrial machinery, and mobility products. The company was founded in 1858 and is based in Tokyo, Japan.

About Orkla Asa

Orkla ASA engages in branded consumer goods, and industrial and financial investment businesses. The company offers branded products, including frozen pizza, ketchup, soups, sauces, bread toppings, and ready-to-eat meals through grocery channels, as well as food service, convenience stores, and petrol stations. It also provides confectionery, biscuit, and snack products; and spices, masalas, and various food products based on dried mixes. In addition, the company offers personal care, hygiene, laundry detergent, and cleaning products; dietary supplement, oral care, sport nutrition, and weight control products; wound care products and first aid equipment; painting tools and accessories; basic and wool garments; and professional cleaning products. It operates Gymgrossisten, Proteinfabrikken, Bodystore, and Fitnesstukku e-commerce portals for health and sports nutrition products; and restaurants. Additionally, the company supplies margarine and butter blends, bread and cake improvers and mixes, yeast, marzipan, and ice cream ingredients; produces and supplies hydro power to the Nordic power market; and develops and sells real estate properties. It offers its food products under the Grandiosa, TORO, Stabburet, Felix, Paulúns, Fun Light, Abba, Beauvais, Kalles, Den Gamle Fabrik, Hamé, and Vitana brands; confectionery and snacks under the KiMs, Nidar, Stratos, Sætre, Göteborgs Kex, OLW, Panda, Laima, Selga, Taffel, Kalev, and Nói Síríus brands; home and personal care products under Zalo, OMO, Blenda, Jif, Define, Solidox, Dr Greve, Lano, and Bliw; health produtcs under Möller's, Jordan, Vitalab, OSL, Cederroth First Aid, Salvequick, Livol, Nutrilett, Maxim, Collett, Solidox and CuraMed brands; and food ingredients under the Odense, Mors Hjemmebakte, KronJäst, Bakkedal, and NATURLI brands. It has operations in Norway, Sweden, Denmark, Finland, Iceland, the Baltics, rest of Europe, and internationally. The company was founded in 1918 and is headquartered in Oslo, Norway.