Comparing Olin (NYSE:OLN) and PTT Public (OTCMKTS:PCHUY)

PTT Public (OTCMKTS:PCHUY) and Olin (NYSE:OLN) are both materials companies, but which is the superior investment? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their institutional ownership, dividends, profitability, risk, valuation, earnings and analyst recommendations.

Valuation and Earnings

This table compares PTT Public and Olin”s gross revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
PTT Public	N/A	N/A	N/A	$30.38	0.18
Olin	$6.70 billion	0.32	-$100.50 million	($1.23)	-15.51

PTT Public has higher earnings, but lower revenue than Olin. Olin is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than PTT Public, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Dividends

PTT Public pays an annual dividend of $13.26 per share and has a dividend yield of 240.0%. Olin pays an annual dividend of $0.80 per share and has a dividend yield of 4.2%. PTT Public pays out 43.7% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Olin pays out -65.0% 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.

Profitability

This table compares PTT Public and Olin’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
PTT Public	N/A	N/A	N/A
Olin	-2.08%	-4.76%	-1.17%

Institutional and Insider Ownership

88.7% of Olin shares are held by institutional investors. 1.6% of Olin shares are held by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, large money managers and hedge funds believe a company will outperform the market over the long term.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a summary of recent ratings for PTT Public and Olin, as reported by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
PTT Public	0	0	0	0	0.00
Olin	4	10	1	1	1.94

Olin has a consensus price target of $23.08, indicating a potential upside of 20.95%. Given Olin’s stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, analysts clearly believe Olin is more favorable than PTT Public.

Summary

Olin beats PTT Public on 8 of the 14 factors compared between the two stocks.

About PTT Public

PTT Public Company Limited, together with its subsidiaries, engages in petroleum business in Thailand, rest of Asia, Europe, the Americas, and internationally. The company is involved in the exploration and production of petroleum; natural gas procurement, pipeline transmission, distribution, and separation activities; and management and maintenance services of port, LNG storage, and LNG station, as well as cooling management and other related businesses. In addition, it engages in the investment, mining, and marketing of coal; and marketing of petroleum products and lube oil through an operating system of procurement, storage, and distribution of products, as well as the retail business at service stations. Further, the company is involved in the import and export of petroleum and petrochemical products, as well as other related products; production and distribution of electricity, steam, and water for industrial purpose; and provision of project management, human resource support, petroleum related technology, consultant management, technical consultant for electricity businesses, petrol station and convenience store management, factory maintenance and engineering, oil and gas, and safety and environmental services, as well as engages in wind power project development. Additionally, it produces and distributes chilled water/constructs and installs electricity generating systems; develops electricity power production projects; distributes polymers products, and other polymers-related products; develops real estate; operates vocational schools; and manufactures and distributes biochemical products, paraxylene, and industrial coatings and additives, as well as engages in the transportation of polyethylene. It engages in the provision of financial and online car services; coffee and beverage business; and manufacturing and distributing petrochemical and health and nutrition products. The company was founded in 1978 and is headquartered in Bangkok, Thailand.

About Olin

Olin Corporation manufactures and distributes chemical products in the United States, Europe, Asia Pacific, Latin America, and Canada. It operates through three segments: Chlor Alkali Products and Vinyls; Epoxy; and Winchester. The Chlor Alkali Products and Vinyls segment offers chlorine and caustic soda, ethylene dichloride and vinyl chloride monomers, methyl chloride, methylene chloride, chloroform, carbon tetrachloride, perchloroethylene, hydrochloric acid, hydrogen, bleach products, potassium hydroxide, and chlorinated organics intermediates and solvents. The Epoxy segment provides Allylics, such as allyl chloride, epichlorohydrin, and glycerin; aromatics, including acetone, bisphenol, cumene, and phenol; liquid and solid epoxy resins; and converted epoxy resins and additives. The Winchester segment offers sporting ammunition products, including shotshells, small caliber centerfire, and rimfire ammunition products for hunters and recreational shooters, and law enforcement agencies; small caliber military ammunition products for use in infantry and mounted weapons; and industrial products comprising gauge loads and powder-actuated tool loads for maintenance applications in power and concrete industries, and powder-actuated tools in construction industry. The company markets its products through its sales force, as well as directly to various industrial customers, mass merchants, retailers, wholesalers, gun clubs, other distributors, and the U.S. Government and its prime contractors. Olin Corporation was incorporated in 1892 and is based in Clayton, Missouri.