Reviewing Himax Technologies (NASDAQ:HIMX) & ASM International (OTCMKTS:ASMIY)

ASM International (OTCMKTS:ASMIY) and Himax Technologies (NASDAQ:HIMX) are both technology companies, but which is the superior business? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their analyst recommendations, valuation, dividends, institutional ownership, profitability, earnings and risk.

Institutional & Insider Ownership

0.0% of ASM International shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 69.8% of Himax Technologies shares are owned by institutional investors. 24.4% of ASM International shares are owned by insiders. Comparatively, 31.5% of Himax Technologies shares are owned by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, large money managers and hedge funds believe a stock will outperform the market over the long term.

Valuation & Earnings

This table compares ASM International and Himax Technologies”s gross revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
ASM International	$3.59 billion	13.86	$818.79 million	$25.50	39.90
Himax Technologies	$832.17 million	3.03	$43.94 million	$0.21	68.81

ASM International has higher revenue and earnings than Himax Technologies. ASM International is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Himax Technologies, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Profitability

This table compares ASM International and Himax Technologies’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
ASM International	31.94%	22.22%	16.33%
Himax Technologies	4.26%	3.90%	2.04%

Dividends

ASM International pays an annual dividend of $3.23 per share and has a dividend yield of 0.3%. Himax Technologies pays an annual dividend of $0.24 per share and has a dividend yield of 1.7%. ASM International pays out 12.7% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Himax Technologies pays out 114.3% of its earnings in the form of a dividend, suggesting it may not have sufficient earnings to cover its dividend payment in the future.

Risk & Volatility

ASM International has a beta of 2.03, meaning that its share price is 103% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Himax Technologies has a beta of 2.34, meaning that its share price is 134% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a breakdown of current ratings and recommmendations for ASM International and Himax Technologies, as reported by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
ASM International	1	2	5	0	2.50
Himax Technologies	0	3	0	0	2.00

Himax Technologies has a consensus target price of $8.00, indicating a potential downside of 44.64%. Given Himax Technologies’ higher probable upside, analysts clearly believe Himax Technologies is more favorable than ASM International.

Summary

ASM International beats Himax Technologies on 10 of the 16 factors compared between the two stocks.

About ASM International

ASM International NV, together with its subsidiaries, engages in the research, development, manufacture, marketing, and servicing of equipment and materials used to produce semiconductor devices in Europe, the United States, and Asia. The company’s products include wafer processing deposition systems for atomic layer deposition (ALD), epitaxy, silicon carbide, plasma enhanced chemical vapor deposition (PECVD), and vertical furnace systems, including low pressure chemical vapor deposition (LPCVD), diffusion, and oxidation products, as well as provides spare parts and support services. It also manufactures and sells equipment, which is used in wafer processing, encompassing the fabrication steps in which silicon wafers are layered with semiconductor devices. The company offers its products to semiconductor manufacturers. The company was formerly known as Advanced Semiconductor Materials International NV. ASM International NV was incorporated in 1968 and is headquartered in Almere, the Netherlands.

About Himax Technologies

Himax Technologies, Inc., a fabless semiconductor company, provides display imaging processing technologies in China, Taiwan, the Philippines, Korea, Japan, Europe, and the United States. The company operates in two segments, Driver IC and Non-Driver Products. It offers display driver integrated circuits (ICs) and timing controllers that are used in televisions, PC monitors, laptops, mobile phones, tablets, automotive, ePaper devices, industrial displays, and other products. The company also provides automotive IC solutions, including traditional driver ICs; advanced in-cell touch and display driver integration; large touch and display driver integration; and local dimming timing controllers, as well as active matrix organic light-emitting diode (AMOLED) solutions, including AMOLED drivers, timing controllers, and touch controller ICs. In addition, it offers application specific IC services; liquid crystal on silicon and micro-electro mechanical system products; Power ICs; complementary metal oxide semiconductor image sensor products; wafer level optics products; 3D sensing products; and ultralow power WiseEye smart image sensing products. The company markets its display drivers to panel manufacturers, mobile device module manufacturers, and manufacturers of end-use products. Himax Technologies, Inc. was incorporated in 2001 and is headquartered in Tainan City, Taiwan.