Innospec (IOSP) Competitors

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

Does the media refer more to ALB or IOSP?

In the previous week, Albemarle had 1 more articles in the media than Innospec. MarketBeat recorded 19 mentions for Albemarle and 18 mentions for Innospec. Innospec's average media sentiment score of 1.03 beat Albemarle's score of 0.30 indicating that Innospec is being referred to more favorably in the news media.

Company	Very Positive	Positive	Neutral	Negative	Very Negative	Overall Sentiment
Albemarle	0 Very Positive mention(s)	2 Positive mention(s)	5 Neutral mention(s)	2 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Neutral
Innospec	7 Very Positive mention(s)	0 Positive mention(s)	7 Neutral mention(s)	1 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Positive

Is ALB or IOSP more profitable?

Innospec has a net margin of 1.93% compared to Albemarle's net margin of -21.93%. Innospec's return on equity of 12.27% beat Albemarle's return on equity.

Company	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Albemarle	-21.93%	-1.72%	-0.84%
Innospec	1.93%	12.27%	8.54%

Do analysts recommend ALB or IOSP?

Albemarle currently has a consensus price target of $92.43, suggesting a potential upside of 50.14%. Given Albemarle's higher probable upside, analysts plainly believe Albemarle is more favorable than Innospec.

Company	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Albemarle	2 Sell rating(s)	14 Hold rating(s)	5 Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.14
Innospec	0 Sell rating(s)	0 Hold rating(s)	0 Buy rating(s)	1 Strong Buy rating(s)	4.00

Which has better valuation and earnings, ALB or IOSP?

Innospec has lower revenue, but higher earnings than Albemarle. Albemarle is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Innospec, 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
Albemarle	$5.09B	1.42	-$1.18B	-$11.12	-5.54
Innospec	$1.85B	1.23	$139.10M	$1.08	83.98

Is ALB or IOSP a better dividend stock?

Albemarle pays an annual dividend of $1.62 per share and has a dividend yield of 2.6%. Innospec pays an annual dividend of $1.68 per share and has a dividend yield of 1.9%. Albemarle pays out -14.6% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Innospec pays out 155.6% of its earnings in the form of a dividend, suggesting it may not have sufficient earnings to cover its dividend payment in the future. Albemarle has increased its dividend for 30 consecutive years and Innospec has increased its dividend for 10 consecutive years. Albemarle is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and longer track record of dividend growth.

Which has more volatility & risk, ALB or IOSP?

Albemarle has a beta of 1.71, meaning that its share price is 71% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Innospec has a beta of 1.11, meaning that its share price is 11% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Does the MarketBeat Community believe in ALB or IOSP?

Albemarle received 440 more outperform votes than Innospec when rated by MarketBeat users. However, 65.95% of users gave Innospec an outperform vote while only 61.83% of users gave Albemarle an outperform vote.

Company	Underperform	Outperform
Albemarle	Outperform Votes 779 61.83%	Underperform Votes 481 38.17%
Innospec	Outperform Votes 339 65.95%	Underperform Votes 175 34.05%

Do institutionals & insiders believe in ALB or IOSP?

92.9% of Albemarle shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 96.6% of Innospec shares are held by institutional investors. 0.3% of Albemarle shares are held by insiders. Comparatively, 1.3% of Innospec shares are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, hedge funds and endowments believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.

Summary

Innospec beats Albemarle on 12 of the 22 factors compared between the two stocks.