Comparing Ingevity (NYSE:NGVT) and Givaudan (OTCMKTS:GVDNY)

Givaudan (OTCMKTS:GVDNY) and Ingevity (NYSE:NGVT) are both basic materials companies, but which is the better stock? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their institutional ownership, earnings, dividends, profitability, analyst recommendations, valuation and risk.

Profitability

This table compares Givaudan and Ingevity’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Givaudan	N/A	N/A	N/A
Ingevity	-13.51%	126.25%	8.90%

Institutional & Insider Ownership

0.0% of Givaudan shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 91.6% of Ingevity shares are owned by institutional investors. 1.1% of Ingevity shares are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, endowments and large money managers believe a stock will outperform the market over the long term.

Valuation & Earnings

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

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Givaudan	$9.02 billion	3.65	$1.29 billion	N/A	N/A
Ingevity	$1.17 billion	2.05	-$167.10 million	($4.65)	-14.59

Givaudan has higher revenue and earnings than Ingevity.

Volatility & Risk

Givaudan has a beta of 0.78, indicating that its share price is 22% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Ingevity has a beta of 1.31, indicating that its share price is 31% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Analyst Ratings

This is a summary of current recommendations for Givaudan and Ingevity, as provided by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Givaudan	1	1	2	1	2.60
Ingevity	1	2	2	0	2.20

Ingevity has a consensus target price of $80.00, suggesting a potential upside of 17.94%. Given Ingevity’s higher possible upside, analysts plainly believe Ingevity is more favorable than Givaudan.

About Givaudan

Givaudan SA manufactures, supplies, and sells fragrance, beauty, taste, and wellbeing products to the consumer goods industry. The company operates through divisions, Fragrance & Beauty, and Taste & Wellbeing. The Fragrance & Beauty division offers fine fragrances; consumer products, such as personal, home, fabric, and oral care; fragrance ingredients; and active beauty products. The Taste & Wellbeing division provides beverages, such as fizzy drinks, bottled waters, ready-to-drink juices, alcoholic beverages, and others; dairy and cheese products, including dairy drinks, yoghurt, ice cream, chilled desserts, cream cheese, and spreads; snacks; givaudan flavour ingredients; savory, and supplements and nutraceutical products; and biscuits, crackers, and cereals, as well as confectionery products, such as chewing gums, chocolates, and sweets. It operates in Switzerland, Europe, Africa, the Middle East, North America, Latin America, and the Asia Pacific. Givaudan SA was founded in 1796 and is headquartered in Vernier, Switzerland.

About Ingevity

Ingevity Corporation manufactures and sells activated carbon products, derivative specialty chemicals, and engineered polymers in North America, the Asia Pacific, Europe, the Middle East, Africa, and South America. It operates through three segments: Performance Materials, Performance Chemicals, and Advanced Polymer Technologies. The Performance Materials segment engineers, manufactures, and sells hardwood-based and chemically activated carbon products for use in gasoline vapor emission control systems in cars, motorcycles, trucks, and boats. This segment also produces other activated carbon products for food, water, beverage, and chemical purification applications. The Performance Chemicals segment consists of road technologies and industrial specialties. This segment's products are used in pavement construction, pavement preservation, pavement reconstruction and recycling, road markings, agrochemical dispersants, paper chemicals, and other industrial uses. The Advanced Polymer Technologies segment produces caprolactone and caprolactone-based specialty polymers for use in coatings, resins, elastomers, adhesives, bioplastics, and medical devices. It serves automotive parts and components manufacturers through sales representatives and distributors. The company was formerly known as WestRock Company, Specialty Chemicals Business and changed its name to Ingevity Corporation in September 2015. Ingevity Corporation was founded in 1964 and is headquartered in North Charleston, South Carolina.