ARQ (NASDAQ:ARQ – Get Free Report) and International Flavors & Fragrances (NYSE:IFF – Get Free Report) are both materials companies, but which is the superior investment? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their risk, valuation, institutional ownership, earnings, dividends, analyst recommendations and profitability.
Analyst Ratings
This is a summary of recent recommendations for ARQ and International Flavors & Fragrances, as provided by MarketBeat.com.
| Sell Ratings | Hold Ratings | Buy Ratings | Strong Buy Ratings | Rating Score | |
| ARQ | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2.00 |
| International Flavors & Fragrances | 1 | 6 | 11 | 1 | 2.63 |
ARQ currently has a consensus price target of $5.00, indicating a potential upside of 108.33%. International Flavors & Fragrances has a consensus price target of $95.16, indicating a potential upside of 9.97%. Given ARQ’s higher probable upside, analysts clearly believe ARQ is more favorable than International Flavors & Fragrances.
Valuation & Earnings
This table compares ARQ and International Flavors & Fragrances”s revenue, earnings per share and valuation.
| Gross Revenue | Price/Sales Ratio | Net Income | Earnings Per Share | Price/Earnings Ratio | |
| ARQ | $120.34 million | 0.87 | -$52.61 million | ($1.18) | -2.03 |
| International Flavors & Fragrances | $10.78 billion | 2.05 | -$361.00 million | $0.71 | 121.88 |
ARQ has higher earnings, but lower revenue than International Flavors & Fragrances. ARQ is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than International Flavors & Fragrances, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.
Profitability
This table compares ARQ and International Flavors & Fragrances’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.
| Net Margins | Return on Equity | Return on Assets | |
| ARQ | -38.79% | -0.85% | -0.61% |
| International Flavors & Fragrances | 1.97% | 6.82% | 3.77% |
Risk and Volatility
ARQ has a beta of 2.12, indicating that its stock price is 112% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, International Flavors & Fragrances has a beta of 0.86, indicating that its stock price is 14% less volatile than the S&P 500.
Insider & Institutional Ownership
18.5% of ARQ shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 96.0% of International Flavors & Fragrances shares are held by institutional investors. 20.1% of ARQ shares are held by insiders. Comparatively, 1.1% of International Flavors & Fragrances shares are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, endowments and large money managers believe a company will outperform the market over the long term.
Summary
International Flavors & Fragrances beats ARQ on 11 of the 15 factors compared between the two stocks.
About ARQ
Arq, Inc. is a holding company. It engages in the provision of environmental and emission control equipment to the power generation industry. The company operates through the following Segments: Refined Coal and Advanced Purification Technologies. The Refined Coal segment includes the Tinuum Group, Tinuum Services, and GWN Manager. The Advanced Purification Technologies segment refers to the sale of Activated Carbon Injection and Dry Sorbent Injection equipment systems, chemical sales, consulting services, and other sales related to the reduction of emissions in the coal-fired electric generation process and the electric utility industry. The company was founded in 1996 and is headquartered in Greenwood Village, CO.
About International Flavors & Fragrances
International Flavors & Fragrances, Inc. engages in the manufacture and supply of flavors and fragrances used in the food, beverage, personal care, and household products industries. It operates through the following segments: Nourish, Health & Biosciences, Scent and Pharma Solutions. The Nourish segment consists of legacy Taste segment combined with N&B’s Food & Beverage division and the food protection business of N&B’s Health & Biosciences division. The Health & Biosciences business consists of a biotechnology-driven portfolio of enzymes, food cultures, probiotics and specialty ingredients for food, home and personal care, and health and wellness applications. The Scent business creates fragrance compounds, fragrance ingredients and cosmetic ingredients that are integral elements in the world’s finest perfumes and best-known household and personal care products. The Pharma Solutions business produces a vast portfolio including cellulosics and seaweed-based pharma excipients, used to improve the functionality and delivery of active pharmaceutical ingredients, including controlled or modified drug release formulations, and enabling. The company was founded in 1833 and is headquartered in New York, NY.
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