Air Products and Chemicals (NYSE:APD – Get Free Report) and Gulf Resources (NASDAQ:GURE – Get Free Report) are both basic materials companies, but which is the superior investment? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their institutional ownership, dividends, analyst recommendations, earnings, risk, profitability and valuation.
Risk and Volatility
Air Products and Chemicals has a beta of 0.87, meaning that its stock price is 13% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Gulf Resources has a beta of 0.36, meaning that its stock price is 64% less volatile than the S&P 500.
Profitability
This table compares Air Products and Chemicals and Gulf Resources’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.
| Net Margins | Return on Equity | Return on Assets | |
| Air Products and Chemicals | -3.28% | 15.18% | 6.64% |
| Gulf Resources | -286.77% | -20.62% | -17.50% |
Valuation & Earnings
| Gross Revenue | Price/Sales Ratio | Net Income | Earnings Per Share | Price/Earnings Ratio | |
| Air Products and Chemicals | $12.04 billion | 4.95 | -$394.50 million | ($1.78) | -150.31 |
| Gulf Resources | $7.66 million | 0.83 | -$58.94 million | ($48.05) | -0.09 |
Gulf Resources has lower revenue, but higher earnings than Air Products and Chemicals. Air Products and Chemicals is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Gulf Resources, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.
Analyst Ratings
This is a breakdown of recent recommendations and price targets for Air Products and Chemicals and Gulf Resources, as reported by MarketBeat.
| Sell Ratings | Hold Ratings | Buy Ratings | Strong Buy Ratings | Rating Score | |
| Air Products and Chemicals | 1 | 7 | 7 | 1 | 2.50 |
| Gulf Resources | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1.00 |
Air Products and Chemicals presently has a consensus target price of $292.00, indicating a potential upside of 9.14%. Given Air Products and Chemicals’ stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, equities analysts plainly believe Air Products and Chemicals is more favorable than Gulf Resources.
Institutional and Insider Ownership
81.7% of Air Products and Chemicals shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 3.3% of Gulf Resources shares are owned by institutional investors. 1.9% of Air Products and Chemicals shares are owned by company insiders. Comparatively, 3.2% of Gulf Resources shares are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, hedge funds and endowments believe a company will outperform the market over the long term.
Summary
Air Products and Chemicals beats Gulf Resources on 12 of the 15 factors compared between the two stocks.
About Air Products and Chemicals
Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. provides atmospheric gases, process and specialty gases, equipment, and related services in the Americas, Asia, Europe, the Middle East, India, and internationally. The company produces atmospheric gases, including oxygen, nitrogen, and argon; process gases, such as hydrogen, helium, carbon dioxide, carbon monoxide, and syngas; and specialty gases for customers in various industries, including refining, chemical, manufacturing, electronics, energy production, medical, food, and metals. It also designs and manufactures equipment for air separation, hydrocarbon recovery and purification, natural gas liquefaction, and liquid helium and liquid hydrogen transport and storage. The company was founded in 1940 and is headquartered in Allentown, Pennsylvania.
About Gulf Resources
Gulf Resources, Inc., through its subsidiaries, manufactures and trades bromine and crude salt, chemical products, and natural gas in the People’s Republic of China. The company operates through four segments: Bromine, Crude salt, Chemical products, and Natural gas segments. It also provides bromine for use in bromine compounds, intermediates in organic synthesis, brominated flame retardants, fumigants, water purification compounds, dyes, medicines, and disinfectants. In addition, the company offers crude salt for use as a material in alkali and chlorine alkali production for use in the chemical, food and beverage, and other industries. In addition, it manufactures and sells chemical products for use in oil and gas field exploration, oil and gas distribution, oil field drilling, papermaking chemical agents, and inorganic chemicals, as well as materials that are used for human and animal antibiotics. The company is based in Shouguang, the People’s Republic of China.
Receive News & Ratings for Air Products and Chemicals Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Air Products and Chemicals and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter.
