Ashland (ASH) Competitors

Ashland (NYSE:ASH) and Albemarle (NYSE:ALB) are both mid-cap basic materials companies, but which is the superior business? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their analyst recommendations, valuation, earnings, profitability, media sentiment, institutional ownership, risk and dividends.

Does the media refer more to ASH or ALB?

In the previous week, Albemarle had 2 more articles in the media than Ashland. MarketBeat recorded 20 mentions for Albemarle and 18 mentions for Ashland. Albemarle's average media sentiment score of 0.78 beat Ashland's score of 0.25 indicating that Albemarle is being referred to more favorably in the news media.

Company	Very Positive	Positive	Neutral	Negative	Very Negative	Overall Sentiment
Ashland	6 Very Positive mention(s)	1 Positive mention(s)	9 Neutral mention(s)	2 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Neutral
Albemarle	11 Very Positive mention(s)	0 Positive mention(s)	3 Neutral mention(s)	3 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Positive

Is ASH or ALB more profitable?

Ashland has a net margin of -5.74% compared to Albemarle's net margin of -22.39%. Ashland's return on equity of 7.14% beat Albemarle's return on equity.

Company	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Ashland	-5.74%	7.14%	3.59%
Albemarle	-22.39%	-1.92%	-0.92%

Which has more volatility and risk, ASH or ALB?

Ashland has a beta of 0.51, meaning that its share price is 49% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Albemarle has a beta of 1.63, meaning that its share price is 63% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Do analysts prefer ASH or ALB?

Ashland currently has a consensus target price of $68.40, indicating a potential upside of 33.75%. Albemarle has a consensus target price of $91.19, indicating a potential upside of 29.03%. Given Ashland's stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, equities analysts plainly believe Ashland is more favorable than Albemarle.

Company	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Ashland	0 Sell rating(s)	3 Hold rating(s)	2 Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.40
Albemarle	3 Sell rating(s)	13 Hold rating(s)	5 Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.10

Is ASH or ALB a better dividend stock?

Ashland pays an annual dividend of $1.66 per share and has a dividend yield of 3.2%. Albemarle pays an annual dividend of $1.62 per share and has a dividend yield of 2.3%. Ashland pays out -69.2% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Albemarle pays out -14.6% 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. Ashland has increased its dividend for 16 consecutive years and Albemarle has increased its dividend for 30 consecutive years. Ashland is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and lower payout ratio.

Do insiders & institutionals have more ownership in ASH or ALB?

94.0% of Ashland shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 92.9% of Albemarle shares are held by institutional investors. 1.0% of Ashland shares are held by company insiders. Comparatively, 0.3% of Albemarle shares are held by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, endowments and hedge funds believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.

Which has better earnings and valuation, ASH or ALB?

Ashland has higher earnings, but lower revenue than Albemarle. Ashland is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Albemarle, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Company	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Ashland	$2.11B	1.11	$169M	-$2.40	-21.31
Albemarle	$5.38B	1.55	-$1.18B	-$11.12	-6.36

Summary

Ashland beats Albemarle on 11 of the 19 factors compared between the two stocks.