Balchem (BCPC) Competitors

Franklin Electric (NASDAQ:FELE) and Balchem (NASDAQ:BCPC) are related mid-cap companies, but which is the superior stock? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their risk, earnings, analyst recommendations, institutional ownership, profitability, dividends, media sentiment and valuation.

Do analysts prefer FELE or BCPC?

Franklin Electric presently has a consensus price target of $107.00, suggesting a potential upside of 7.43%. Balchem has a consensus price target of $189.00, suggesting a potential upside of 14.46%. Given Balchem's stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, analysts plainly believe Balchem is more favorable than Franklin Electric.

Company	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Franklin Electric	0 Sell rating(s)	1 Hold rating(s)	0 Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.00
Balchem	0 Sell rating(s)	1 Hold rating(s)	1 Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.50

Do insiders & institutionals believe in FELE or BCPC?

80.0% of Franklin Electric shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 87.9% of Balchem shares are held by institutional investors. 2.7% of Franklin Electric shares are held by company insiders. Comparatively, 1.4% of Balchem 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 more risk and volatility, FELE or BCPC?

Franklin Electric has a beta of 1.08, suggesting that its share price is 8% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Balchem has a beta of 0.88, suggesting that its share price is 12% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Does the media prefer FELE or BCPC?

In the previous week, Franklin Electric had 10 more articles in the media than Balchem. MarketBeat recorded 11 mentions for Franklin Electric and 1 mentions for Balchem. Franklin Electric's average media sentiment score of 1.31 beat Balchem's score of 0.36 indicating that Franklin Electric is being referred to more favorably in the media.

Company	Very Positive	Positive	Neutral	Negative	Very Negative	Overall Sentiment
Franklin Electric	11 Very Positive mention(s)	0 Positive mention(s)	0 Neutral mention(s)	0 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Positive
Balchem	0 Very Positive mention(s)	1 Positive mention(s)	0 Neutral mention(s)	0 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Neutral

Is FELE or BCPC more profitable?

Balchem has a net margin of 14.48% compared to Franklin Electric's net margin of 8.71%. Franklin Electric's return on equity of 14.05% beat Balchem's return on equity.

Company	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Franklin Electric	8.71%	14.05%	9.47%
Balchem	14.48%	12.41%	9.21%

Which has preferable valuation and earnings, FELE or BCPC?

Franklin Electric has higher revenue and earnings than Balchem. Franklin Electric 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
Franklin Electric	$2.02B	2.19	$180.31M	$3.87	25.74
Balchem	$985.93M	5.44	$128.48M	$4.36	37.87

Is FELE or BCPC a better dividend stock?

Franklin Electric pays an annual dividend of $1.06 per share and has a dividend yield of 1.1%. Balchem pays an annual dividend of $0.87 per share and has a dividend yield of 0.5%. Franklin Electric pays out 27.4% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Balchem pays out 20.0% 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. Franklin Electric has increased its dividend for 33 consecutive years and Balchem has increased its dividend for 16 consecutive years. Franklin Electric is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and longer track record of dividend growth.

Summary

Franklin Electric beats Balchem on 10 of the 19 factors compared between the two stocks.