Balchem (BCPC) Competitors

International Flavors & Fragrances (NYSE:IFF) and Balchem (NASDAQ:BCPC) are both basic materials companies, but which is the superior stock? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their earnings, community ranking, media sentiment, valuation, profitability, risk, analyst recommendations, dividends and institutional ownership.

Does the MarketBeat Community believe in IFF or BCPC?

International Flavors & Fragrances received 118 more outperform votes than Balchem when rated by MarketBeat users. However, 66.50% of users gave Balchem an outperform vote while only 60.67% of users gave International Flavors & Fragrances an outperform vote.

Company	Underperform	Outperform
International Flavors & Fragrances	Outperform Votes 509 60.67%	Underperform Votes 330 39.33%
Balchem	Outperform Votes 391 66.50%	Underperform Votes 197 33.50%

Do insiders and institutionals hold more shares of IFF or BCPC?

96.0% of International Flavors & Fragrances shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 87.9% of Balchem shares are owned by institutional investors. 0.2% of International Flavors & Fragrances shares are owned by insiders. Comparatively, 1.4% of Balchem shares are owned 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.

Is IFF or BCPC more profitable?

Balchem has a net margin of 13.47% compared to International Flavors & Fragrances' net margin of 2.12%. Balchem's return on equity of 11.37% beat International Flavors & Fragrances' return on equity.

Company	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
International Flavors & Fragrances	2.12%	7.72%	3.72%
Balchem	13.47%	11.37%	8.11%

Which has stronger earnings and valuation, IFF or BCPC?

Balchem has lower revenue, but higher earnings than International Flavors & Fragrances. International Flavors & Fragrances is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Balchem, 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
International Flavors & Fragrances	$11.43B	1.70	-$2.57B	-$3.27	-23.26
Balchem	$964.54M	5.46	$128.48M	$4.17	38.74

Do analysts recommend IFF or BCPC?

International Flavors & Fragrances currently has a consensus price target of $93.43, suggesting a potential upside of 22.85%. Balchem has a consensus price target of $180.00, suggesting a potential upside of 11.43%. Given International Flavors & Fragrances' stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, equities research analysts plainly believe International Flavors & Fragrances is more favorable than Balchem.

Company	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
International Flavors & Fragrances	1 Sell rating(s)	1 Hold rating(s)	13 Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.80
Balchem	0 Sell rating(s)	1 Hold rating(s)	1 Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.50

Which has more volatility & risk, IFF or BCPC?

International Flavors & Fragrances has a beta of 1.05, meaning that its share price is 5% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Balchem has a beta of 0.91, meaning that its share price is 9% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Does the media prefer IFF or BCPC?

In the previous week, International Flavors & Fragrances had 27 more articles in the media than Balchem. MarketBeat recorded 30 mentions for International Flavors & Fragrances and 3 mentions for Balchem. Balchem's average media sentiment score of 1.55 beat International Flavors & Fragrances' score of 0.92 indicating that Balchem is being referred to more favorably in the news media.

Company	Very Positive	Positive	Neutral	Negative	Very Negative	Overall Sentiment
International Flavors & Fragrances	13 Very Positive mention(s)	1 Positive mention(s)	8 Neutral mention(s)	1 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Positive
Balchem	1 Very Positive mention(s)	1 Positive mention(s)	0 Neutral mention(s)	0 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Very Positive

Is IFF or BCPC a better dividend stock?

International Flavors & Fragrances pays an annual dividend of $1.60 per share and has a dividend yield of 2.1%. Balchem pays an annual dividend of $0.87 per share and has a dividend yield of 0.5%. International Flavors & Fragrances pays out -48.9% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Balchem pays out 20.9% 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. Balchem has increased its dividend for 16 consecutive years. International Flavors & Fragrances is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and lower payout ratio.

Summary

International Flavors & Fragrances beats Balchem on 11 of the 21 factors compared between the two stocks.