Eastman Chemical (NYSE:EMN) versus Hawkins (NASDAQ:HWKN) Head to Head Survey

Eastman Chemical (NYSE:EMN) and Hawkins (NASDAQ:HWKN) are both mid-cap materials companies, but which is the superior stock? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their analyst recommendations, earnings, profitability, valuation, risk, institutional ownership and dividends.

Analyst Ratings

This is a summary of current ratings and target prices for Eastman Chemical and Hawkins, as reported by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Eastman Chemical	1	8	6	0	2.33
Hawkins	0	3	1	0	2.25

Eastman Chemical presently has a consensus price target of $74.79, indicating a potential upside of 13.89%. Hawkins has a consensus price target of $178.50, indicating a potential upside of 18.71%. Given Hawkins’ higher probable upside, analysts clearly believe Hawkins is more favorable than Eastman Chemical.

Dividends

Eastman Chemical pays an annual dividend of $3.36 per share and has a dividend yield of 5.1%. Hawkins pays an annual dividend of $0.80 per share and has a dividend yield of 0.5%. Eastman Chemical pays out 59.7% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Hawkins pays out 19.4% 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. Eastman Chemical has raised its dividend for 15 consecutive years and Hawkins has raised its dividend for 20 consecutive years.

Profitability

This table compares Eastman Chemical and Hawkins’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Eastman Chemical	7.15%	10.59%	4.28%
Hawkins	7.53%	15.97%	8.68%

Volatility & Risk

Eastman Chemical has a beta of 1.07, meaning that its share price is 7% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Hawkins has a beta of 0.72, meaning that its share price is 28% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Insider and Institutional Ownership

83.7% of Eastman Chemical shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 69.7% of Hawkins shares are held by institutional investors. 2.6% of Eastman Chemical shares are held by company insiders. Comparatively, 3.7% of Hawkins shares are held by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, hedge funds and large money managers believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.

Valuation & Earnings

This table compares Eastman Chemical and Hawkins”s gross revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Eastman Chemical	$8.75 billion	0.86	$474.00 million	$5.63	11.66
Hawkins	$1.08 billion	2.88	$81.55 million	$4.12	36.50

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

Summary

Hawkins beats Eastman Chemical on 9 of the 17 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Eastman Chemical

Eastman Chemical Company is a global specialty materials and chemicals company founded in 1920 in Kingsport, Tennessee. Originally part of Eastman Kodak, it became an independent company in 1994. Eastman develops and manufactures materials and chemical products for customers in a wide range of industries. Its products include specialty plastics and films, performance additives, chemical intermediates, and cellulose acetate fibers. These materials are used in applications such as transportation, building and construction, consumer goods, electronics, packaging, and healthcare.

About Hawkins

Hawkins, Inc. is a specialty chemical and ingredient company founded in 1938. It supplies products and services to customers in water treatment, industrial markets, and health and nutrition. Its water treatment business serves municipal and industrial customers with chemicals and related services for water and wastewater treatment. The industrial business supplies chemicals and services to manufacturers and other commercial customers, while the health and nutrition business provides ingredients used in food, beverage, and other products.