Oil-Dri Corporation Of America (NYSE:ODC) and Olin (NYSE:OLN) Head-To-Head Comparison

Olin (NYSE:OLN) and Oil-Dri Corporation Of America (NYSE:ODC) are both basic materials companies, but which is the better stock? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their profitability, analyst recommendations, valuation, institutional ownership, dividends, earnings and risk.

Volatility and Risk

Olin has a beta of 1.79, indicating that its stock price is 79% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Oil-Dri Corporation Of America has a beta of 0.68, indicating that its stock price is 32% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Dividends

Olin pays an annual dividend of $0.80 per share and has a dividend yield of 4.1%. Oil-Dri Corporation Of America pays an annual dividend of $0.72 per share and has a dividend yield of 1.3%. Olin pays out 173.9% of its earnings in the form of a dividend, suggesting it may not have sufficient earnings to cover its dividend payment in the future. Oil-Dri Corporation Of America pays out 19.5% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Oil-Dri Corporation Of America has raised its dividend for 11 consecutive years.

Analyst Ratings

This is a breakdown of current ratings and target prices for Olin and Oil-Dri Corporation Of America, as reported by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Olin	2	11	2	1	2.13
Oil-Dri Corporation Of America	0	0	1	0	3.00

Olin currently has a consensus price target of $25.00, indicating a potential upside of 27.88%. Given Olin’s higher possible upside, research analysts clearly believe Olin is more favorable than Oil-Dri Corporation Of America.

Profitability

This table compares Olin and Oil-Dri Corporation Of America’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Olin	0.79%	3.36%	0.89%
Oil-Dri Corporation Of America	11.12%	22.36%	14.74%

Institutional & Insider Ownership

88.7% of Olin shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 49.0% of Oil-Dri Corporation Of America shares are held by institutional investors. 1.7% of Olin shares are held by company insiders. Comparatively, 11.7% of Oil-Dri Corporation Of America shares are held by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, hedge funds and large money managers believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Valuation & Earnings

This table compares Olin and Oil-Dri Corporation Of America”s gross revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Olin	$6.54 billion	0.34	$108.60 million	$0.46	42.50
Oil-Dri Corporation Of America	$485.57 million	1.71	$54.00 million	$3.70	15.29

Olin has higher revenue and earnings than Oil-Dri Corporation Of America. Oil-Dri Corporation Of America is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Olin, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

About Olin

Olin Corporation manufactures and distributes chemical products in the United States, Europe, Asia Pacific, Latin America, and Canada. It operates through three segments: Chlor Alkali Products and Vinyls; Epoxy; and Winchester. The Chlor Alkali Products and Vinyls segment offers chlorine and caustic soda, ethylene dichloride and vinyl chloride monomers, methyl chloride, methylene chloride, chloroform, carbon tetrachloride, perchloroethylene, hydrochloric acid, hydrogen, bleach products, potassium hydroxide, and chlorinated organics intermediates and solvents. The Epoxy segment provides Allylics, such as allyl chloride, epichlorohydrin, and glycerin; aromatics, including acetone, bisphenol, cumene, and phenol; liquid and solid epoxy resins; and converted epoxy resins and additives. The Winchester segment offers sporting ammunition products, including shotshells, small caliber centerfire, and rimfire ammunition products for hunters and recreational shooters, and law enforcement agencies; small caliber military ammunition products for use in infantry and mounted weapons; and industrial products comprising gauge loads and powder-actuated tool loads for maintenance applications in power and concrete industries, and powder-actuated tools in construction industry. The company markets its products through its sales force, as well as directly to various industrial customers, mass merchants, retailers, wholesalers, gun clubs, other distributors, and the U.S. Government and its prime contractors. Olin Corporation was incorporated in 1892 and is based in Clayton, Missouri.

About Oil-Dri Corporation Of America

Oil-Dri Corporation of America is a manufacturer and supplier of specialty sorbent products for the pet care, animal health and nutrition, fluids purification, agricultural ingredients, sports field, industrial and automotive markets. It operates through the Business to Business Products Group and Retail and Wholesale Products Group segments. The Business to Business Products Group segment’s customers include processors and refiners of edible oils, jet fuel and biofuel, manufacturers of animal feed and agricultural chemicals, distributors of animal health and nutrition products, and marketers of consumer products. The Retail and Wholesale Products Group segment customers include retailers of cat litter and related accessories such as mass merchandisers, drugstore chains, pet specialty retail outlets, dollar stores, retail grocery stores as well as distributors of industrial cleanup and automotive products, environmental service companies, and sports field product users. The company was founded by Nick Jaffee in 1941 and is headquartered in Chicago, IL.