International Flavors & Fragrances (NYSE:IFF – Get Free Report) and ARQ (NASDAQ:ARQ – Get Free Report) are both materials companies, but which is the better stock? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their analyst recommendations, valuation, earnings, dividends, institutional ownership, risk and profitability.
Analyst Recommendations
This is a breakdown of recent ratings for International Flavors & Fragrances and ARQ, as provided by MarketBeat.
| Sell Ratings | Hold Ratings | Buy Ratings | Strong Buy Ratings | Rating Score | |
| International Flavors & Fragrances | 1 | 6 | 11 | 1 | 2.63 |
| ARQ | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2.00 |
International Flavors & Fragrances presently has a consensus target price of $95.05, indicating a potential upside of 14.83%. ARQ has a consensus target price of $5.00, indicating a potential upside of 97.63%. Given ARQ’s higher possible upside, analysts clearly believe ARQ is more favorable than International Flavors & Fragrances.
Insider & Institutional Ownership
96.0% of International Flavors & Fragrances shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 18.5% of ARQ shares are owned by institutional investors. 1.1% of International Flavors & Fragrances shares are owned by insiders. Comparatively, 20.1% of ARQ shares are owned by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, endowments and hedge funds believe a company will outperform the market over the long term.
Profitability
This table compares International Flavors & Fragrances and ARQ’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.
| Net Margins | Return on Equity | Return on Assets | |
| International Flavors & Fragrances | 1.97% | 6.82% | 3.77% |
| ARQ | -38.79% | -0.84% | -0.61% |
Risk and Volatility
International Flavors & Fragrances has a beta of 0.86, indicating that its stock price is 14% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, ARQ has a beta of 2.12, indicating that its stock price is 112% more volatile than the S&P 500.
Valuation & Earnings
This table compares International Flavors & Fragrances and ARQ”s revenue, earnings per share and valuation.
| Gross Revenue | Price/Sales Ratio | Net Income | Earnings Per Share | Price/Earnings Ratio | |
| International Flavors & Fragrances | $10.89 billion | 1.90 | -$361.00 million | $0.71 | 116.58 |
| ARQ | $120.34 million | 0.93 | -$52.61 million | ($1.18) | -2.14 |
ARQ has lower revenue, but higher earnings than International Flavors & Fragrances. ARQ is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than International Flavors & Fragrances, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.
Summary
International Flavors & Fragrances beats ARQ on 11 of the 15 factors compared between the two stocks.
About International Flavors & Fragrances
International Flavors & Fragrances, Inc. engages in the manufacture and supply of flavors and fragrances used in the food, beverage, personal care, and household products industries. It operates through the following segments: Nourish, Health & Biosciences, Scent and Pharma Solutions. The Nourish segment consists of legacy Taste segment combined with N&B’s Food & Beverage division and the food protection business of N&B’s Health & Biosciences division. The Health & Biosciences business consists of a biotechnology-driven portfolio of enzymes, food cultures, probiotics and specialty ingredients for food, home and personal care, and health and wellness applications. The Scent business creates fragrance compounds, fragrance ingredients and cosmetic ingredients that are integral elements in the world’s finest perfumes and best-known household and personal care products. The Pharma Solutions business produces a vast portfolio including cellulosics and seaweed-based pharma excipients, used to improve the functionality and delivery of active pharmaceutical ingredients, including controlled or modified drug release formulations, and enabling. The company was founded in 1833 and is headquartered in New York, NY.
About ARQ
Arq, Inc. is a holding company. It engages in the provision of environmental and emission control equipment to the power generation industry. The company operates through the following Segments: Refined Coal and Advanced Purification Technologies. The Refined Coal segment includes the Tinuum Group, Tinuum Services, and GWN Manager. The Advanced Purification Technologies segment refers to the sale of Activated Carbon Injection and Dry Sorbent Injection equipment systems, chemical sales, consulting services, and other sales related to the reduction of emissions in the coal-fired electric generation process and the electric utility industry. The company was founded in 1996 and is headquartered in Greenwood Village, CO.
Receive News & Ratings for International Flavors & Fragrances Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for International Flavors & Fragrances and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter.
