5N Plus (OTCMKTS:FPLSF) and Shin-Etsu Chemical (OTCMKTS:SHECY) Financial Contrast

Shin-Etsu Chemical (OTCMKTS:SHECY) and 5N Plus (OTCMKTS:FPLSF) are both materials companies, but which is the better investment? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their dividends, profitability, institutional ownership, risk, analyst recommendations, earnings and valuation.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a breakdown of current ratings for Shin-Etsu Chemical and 5N Plus, as provided by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Shin-Etsu Chemical	0	1	0	0	2.00
5N Plus	0	1	2	1	3.00

Profitability

This table compares Shin-Etsu Chemical and 5N Plus’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Shin-Etsu Chemical	18.39%	10.49%	8.62%
5N Plus	14.14%	26.36%	11.28%

Valuation & Earnings

This table compares Shin-Etsu Chemical and 5N Plus”s revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Shin-Etsu Chemical	$17.10 billion	4.31	$3.15 billion	$0.83	22.35
5N Plus	$391.06 million	4.14	$50.57 million	$0.70	25.71

Shin-Etsu Chemical has higher revenue and earnings than 5N Plus. Shin-Etsu Chemical is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than 5N Plus, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Institutional and Insider Ownership

0.0% of Shin-Etsu Chemical shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 0.1% of 5N Plus shares are held by institutional investors. 3.9% of 5N Plus shares are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, large money managers and endowments believe a company will outperform the market over the long term.

Volatility & Risk

Shin-Etsu Chemical has a beta of 1.35, indicating that its stock price is 35% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, 5N Plus has a beta of 1.86, indicating that its stock price is 86% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Summary

5N Plus beats Shin-Etsu Chemical on 9 of the 14 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Shin-Etsu Chemical

Shin-Etsu Chemical Co., Ltd. provides infrastructure, electronics, and functional materials in Japan. It is also involved in processing and specialized related services. The company operates through Infrastructure Materials; Electronics Materials; Functional Materials; and Processing and Specialized Services segments. In addition, it offers cellulose derivatives, synthetic pheromones, aroma chemicals, dielectric and LED/ semiconductor materials, silanes, photoresists, chlorides, caustic soda, liquid fluoroelastomers, polyvinyl chloride and vinyl acetate resin, silicones, and silicones processed goods. Further, the company offers pellicles, photomask blanks, synthetic quartz/ quartz cloth, pyrolytic boron nitride, LIB anode material, and silicon metal. Additionally, it provides rare earth magnets, compound semiconductors, and oxide single crystals. The company was formerly known as Shin-Etsu Nitrogen Fertilizer Co., Ltd. and changed its name to Shin-Etsu Chemical Co., Ltd. in 1940. Shin-Etsu Chemical Co., Ltd. was incorporated in 1926 and is headquartered in Tokyo, Japan.

About 5N Plus

5N Plus Inc. produces and sells specialty metals and chemicals in North America, Europe, and Asia. It operates through two segments, Specialty Semiconductors and Performance Materials. The company offers semiconductor compounds, semiconductor wafers, metals, epitaxial semiconductor substrates, and solar cells. It also provides active pharmaceutical ingredients, animal feed additives, specialized chemicals, commercial grade metals, alloys, engineered powders, and recycling services. The company serves renewable energy, security, space, pharmaceutical, medical imaging, manufacturing, electronic, consumer, and industrial application markets. 5N Plus Inc. is headquartered in Montreal, Canada.