Ashland (ASH) Competitors

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

Does the media favor ALB or ASH?

In the previous week, Albemarle had 3 more articles in the media than Ashland. MarketBeat recorded 20 mentions for Albemarle and 17 mentions for Ashland. Albemarle's average media sentiment score of 1.13 beat Ashland's score of 0.34 indicating that Albemarle is being referred to more favorably in the media.

Company	Very Positive	Positive	Neutral	Negative	Very Negative	Overall Sentiment
Albemarle	12 Very Positive mention(s)	1 Positive mention(s)	5 Neutral mention(s)	0 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Positive
Ashland	6 Very Positive mention(s)	0 Positive mention(s)	9 Neutral mention(s)	1 Negative mention(s)	1 Very Negative mention(s)	Neutral

Do insiders & institutionals believe in ALB or ASH?

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

Which has better valuation & earnings, ALB or ASH?

Ashland has lower revenue, but higher earnings than Albemarle. Albemarle is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Ashland, 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	$5.38B	1.76	-$1.18B	-$9.32	-8.64
Ashland	$2.11B	1.17	$169M	-$18.73	-2.89

Which has more risk and volatility, ALB or ASH?

Albemarle has a beta of 1.63, indicating that its share price is 63% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Ashland has a beta of 0.49, indicating that its share price is 51% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Is ALB or ASH a better dividend stock?

Albemarle pays an annual dividend of $1.62 per share and has a dividend yield of 2.0%. Ashland pays an annual dividend of $1.66 per share and has a dividend yield of 3.1%. Albemarle pays out -17.4% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Ashland pays out -8.9% 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. Albemarle has increased its dividend for 30 consecutive years and Ashland has increased its dividend for 16 consecutive years.

Do analysts prefer ALB or ASH?

Albemarle presently has a consensus target price of $89.17, indicating a potential upside of 10.79%. Ashland has a consensus target price of $65.60, indicating a potential upside of 21.29%. Given Ashland's stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, analysts plainly believe Ashland is more favorable than Albemarle.

Company	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Albemarle	5 Sell rating(s)	9 Hold rating(s)	3 Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	1.88
Ashland	0 Sell rating(s)	3 Hold rating(s)	2 Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.40

Is ALB or ASH more profitable?

Albemarle has a net margin of -18.61% compared to Ashland's net margin of -46.01%. Ashland's return on equity of 6.82% beat Albemarle's return on equity.

Company	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Albemarle	-18.61%	-1.87%	-0.89%
Ashland	-46.01%	6.82%	3.26%

Summary

Albemarle beats Ashland on 10 of the 19 factors compared between the two stocks.