Financial Contrast: AdvanSix (ASIX) and Its Competitors

AdvanSix (NYSE:ASIX) is one of 296 public companies in the “Chemicals” industry, but how does it contrast to its competitors? We will compare AdvanSix to similar companies based on the strength of its profitability, dividends, earnings, institutional ownership, risk, analyst recommendations and valuation.

Institutional and Insider Ownership

86.4% of AdvanSix shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 47.4% of shares of all “Chemicals” companies are held by institutional investors. 5.0% of AdvanSix shares are held by insiders. Comparatively, 13.7% of shares of all “Chemicals” companies are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, hedge funds and endowments believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Profitability

This table compares AdvanSix and its competitors’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
AdvanSix	-1.40%	-2.29%	-1.08%
AdvanSix Competitors	-54.14%	-0.61%	-1.37%

Volatility and Risk

AdvanSix has a beta of 1.27, indicating that its stock price is 27% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, AdvanSix’s competitors have a beta of 0.94, indicating that their average stock price is 6% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Earnings and Valuation

This table compares AdvanSix and its competitors top-line revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Net Income	Price/Earnings Ratio
AdvanSix	$1.52 billion	$49.29 million	-18.70
AdvanSix Competitors	$6.34 billion	$229.42 million	20.00

AdvanSix’s competitors have higher revenue and earnings than AdvanSix. AdvanSix is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than its competitors, indicating that it is currently more affordable than other companies in its industry.

Dividends

AdvanSix pays an annual dividend of $0.64 per share and has a dividend yield of 4.1%. AdvanSix pays out -76.2% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. As a group, “Chemicals” companies pay a dividend yield of 3.1% and pay out 103.5% of their earnings in the form of a dividend. AdvanSix has raised its dividend for 2 consecutive years. AdvanSix is clearly a better dividend stock than its competitors, given its higher yield and lower payout ratio.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a breakdown of recent ratings and recommmendations for AdvanSix and its competitors, as reported by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
AdvanSix	1	2	0	0	1.67
AdvanSix Competitors	3272	12238	14147	520	2.39

AdvanSix presently has a consensus target price of $20.50, indicating a potential upside of 30.48%. As a group, “Chemicals” companies have a potential upside of 6.95%. Given AdvanSix’s higher probable upside, equities analysts clearly believe AdvanSix is more favorable than its competitors.

About AdvanSix

AdvanSix Inc. is an integrated chemicals manufacturer that produces nylon 6 and the materials used to make it, including caprolactam. Its nylon 6 products serve applications in packaging, automotive components, carpet and other industrial and consumer products. The company also makes ammonium sulfate, which is used as a fertilizer, along with phenol, acetone and other chemical intermediates. Its integrated production operations connect these products across several stages of the chemical manufacturing process.