Sensient Technologies (SXT) Competitors

H. B. Fuller (NYSE:FUL) and Sensient Technologies (NYSE:SXT) are both mid-cap basic materials companies, but which is the better business? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their earnings, valuation, media sentiment, dividends, profitability, analyst recommendations, institutional ownership and risk.

Is FUL or SXT more profitable?

Sensient Technologies has a net margin of 8.56% compared to H. B. Fuller's net margin of 2.92%. Sensient Technologies' return on equity of 12.56% beat H. B. Fuller's return on equity.

Company	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
H. B. Fuller	2.92%	11.50%	4.21%
Sensient Technologies	8.56%	12.56%	6.60%

Which has better earnings and valuation, FUL or SXT?

H. B. Fuller has higher revenue and earnings than Sensient Technologies. H. B. Fuller is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Sensient Technologies, 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
H. B. Fuller	$3.57B	0.84	$130.26M	$1.85	30.04
Sensient Technologies	$1.56B	3.04	$124.67M	$3.17	35.17

Which has more volatility and risk, FUL or SXT?

H. B. Fuller has a beta of 1.13, suggesting that its share price is 13% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Sensient Technologies has a beta of 0.58, suggesting that its share price is 42% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Is FUL or SXT a better dividend stock?

H. B. Fuller pays an annual dividend of $0.94 per share and has a dividend yield of 1.7%. Sensient Technologies pays an annual dividend of $1.64 per share and has a dividend yield of 1.5%. H. B. Fuller pays out 50.8% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Sensient Technologies pays out 51.7% 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. H. B. Fuller has raised its dividend for 57 consecutive years. H. B. Fuller is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and longer track record of dividend growth.

Do insiders and institutionals have more ownership in FUL or SXT?

95.9% of H. B. Fuller shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 90.9% of Sensient Technologies shares are held by institutional investors. 2.0% of H. B. Fuller shares are held by insiders. Comparatively, 1.2% of Sensient Technologies shares are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, large money managers and endowments believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.

Does the media favor FUL or SXT?

In the previous week, Sensient Technologies had 8 more articles in the media than H. B. Fuller. MarketBeat recorded 9 mentions for Sensient Technologies and 1 mentions for H. B. Fuller. Sensient Technologies' average media sentiment score of 1.13 beat H. B. Fuller's score of 0.77 indicating that Sensient Technologies is being referred to more favorably in the news media.

Company	Very Positive	Positive	Neutral	Negative	Very Negative	Overall Sentiment
H. B. Fuller	0 Very Positive mention(s)	0 Positive mention(s)	1 Neutral mention(s)	0 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Positive
Sensient Technologies	6 Very Positive mention(s)	1 Positive mention(s)	1 Neutral mention(s)	1 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Positive

Do analysts rate FUL or SXT?

H. B. Fuller presently has a consensus target price of $67.25, indicating a potential upside of 21.00%. Sensient Technologies has a consensus target price of $110.00, indicating a potential downside of 1.34%. Given H. B. Fuller's higher probable upside, analysts clearly believe H. B. Fuller is more favorable than Sensient Technologies.

Company	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
H. B. Fuller	1 Sell rating(s)	3 Hold rating(s)	2 Buy rating(s)	1 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.43
Sensient Technologies	0 Sell rating(s)	1 Hold rating(s)	1 Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.50

Summary

H. B. Fuller beats Sensient Technologies on 11 of the 20 factors compared between the two stocks.