Univar Solutions - UNVR Competitors

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

Does the media refer more to ASH or UNVR?

In the previous week, Univar Solutions had 2 more articles in the media than Ashland. MarketBeat recorded 5 mentions for Univar Solutions and 3 mentions for Ashland. Univar Solutions' average media sentiment score of 1.01 beat Ashland's score of 0.12 indicating that Univar Solutions is being referred to more favorably in the news media.

Company	Very Positive	Positive	Neutral	Negative	Very Negative	Overall Sentiment
Ashland	2 Very Positive mention(s)	0 Positive mention(s)	0 Neutral mention(s)	0 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Neutral
Univar Solutions	3 Very Positive mention(s)	2 Positive mention(s)	0 Neutral mention(s)	0 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Positive

Do analysts rate ASH or UNVR?

Ashland currently has a consensus price target of $128.13, indicating a potential upside of 25.29%. Univar Solutions has a consensus price target of $36.00, indicating a potential upside of 3.12%. Given Ashland's stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, analysts clearly believe Ashland is more favorable than Univar Solutions.

Company	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Ashland	1 Sell rating(s)	1 Hold rating(s)	5 Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.57
Univar Solutions	1 Sell rating(s)	4 Hold rating(s)	3 Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.25

Which has preferable valuation and earnings, ASH or UNVR?

Ashland has higher earnings, but lower revenue than Univar Solutions. Ashland is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Univar Solutions, 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
Ashland	$2.40 billion	2.31	$927 million	$16.11	6.35
Univar Solutions	$11.48 billion	0.48	$545.30 million	$3.24	10.77

Is ASH or UNVR more profitable?

Ashland has a net margin of 38.23% compared to Univar Solutions' net margin of 4.75%. Univar Solutions' return on equity of 22.44% beat Ashland's return on equity.

Company	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Ashland	38.23%	9.82%	5.04%
Univar Solutions	4.75%	22.44%	7.84%

Do institutionals and insiders believe in ASH or UNVR?

92.2% of Ashland shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 95.9% of Univar Solutions shares are held by institutional investors. 8.2% of Ashland shares are held by company insiders. Comparatively, 1.7% of Univar Solutions shares are held by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, large money managers and endowments believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Does the MarketBeat Community believe in ASH or UNVR?

Ashland received 322 more outperform votes than Univar Solutions when rated by MarketBeat users. Likewise, 70.66% of users gave Ashland an outperform vote while only 56.89% of users gave Univar Solutions an outperform vote.

Company	Underperform	Outperform
Ashland	Outperform Votes 578 70.66%	Underperform Votes 240 29.34%
Univar Solutions	Outperform Votes 256 56.89%	Underperform Votes 194 43.11%

Which has more risk and volatility, ASH or UNVR?

Ashland has a beta of 1, suggesting that its stock price has a similar volatility profile to the S&P 500.Comparatively, Univar Solutions has a beta of 1.7, suggesting that its stock price is 70% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Summary

Ashland beats Univar Solutions on 10 of the 18 factors compared between the two stocks.