Reviewing Idemitsu Kosan Co.,Ltd. (OTCMKTS:IDKOY) and Icahn Enterprises (NASDAQ:IEP)

Idemitsu Kosan Co.,Ltd. (OTCMKTS:IDKOY) and Icahn Enterprises (NASDAQ:IEP) are both energy companies, but which is the better investment? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their institutional ownership, valuation, risk, dividends, analyst recommendations, earnings and profitability.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a breakdown of current ratings and price targets for Idemitsu Kosan Co.,Ltd. and Icahn Enterprises, as reported by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Idemitsu Kosan Co.,Ltd.	0	0	0	0	N/A
Icahn Enterprises	0	0	1	0	3.00

Icahn Enterprises has a consensus price target of $27.00, suggesting a potential upside of 59.86%. Given Icahn Enterprises’ higher possible upside, analysts plainly believe Icahn Enterprises is more favorable than Idemitsu Kosan Co.,Ltd..

Dividends

Idemitsu Kosan Co.,Ltd. pays an annual dividend of $11.25 per share and has a dividend yield of 87.5%. Icahn Enterprises pays an annual dividend of $4.00 per share and has a dividend yield of 23.7%. Idemitsu Kosan Co.,Ltd. pays out 22.1% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Icahn Enterprises pays out -221.0% 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.

Insider & Institutional Ownership

87.1% of Icahn Enterprises shares are owned by institutional investors. 90.1% of Icahn Enterprises shares are owned by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, endowments and large money managers believe a stock will outperform the market over the long term.

Earnings & Valuation

This table compares Idemitsu Kosan Co.,Ltd. and Icahn Enterprises’ revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Idemitsu Kosan Co.,Ltd.	N/A	N/A	N/A	$50.83	0.25
Icahn Enterprises	$10.85 billion	0.67	-$684.00 million	($1.81)	-9.33

Idemitsu Kosan Co.,Ltd. has higher earnings, but lower revenue than Icahn Enterprises. Icahn Enterprises is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Idemitsu Kosan Co.,Ltd., indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Profitability

This table compares Idemitsu Kosan Co.,Ltd. and Icahn Enterprises’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Idemitsu Kosan Co.,Ltd.	N/A	N/A	N/A
Icahn Enterprises	-6.21%	-9.60%	-2.99%

About Idemitsu Kosan Co.,Ltd.

Idemitsu Kosan Co.,Ltd. engages in the petroleum, basic chemicals, functional materials, power and renewable energy, and resources businesses in Japan and internationally. The company's Petroleum segment engages in the procurement of crude oil and refining of petroleum products; sale of gasoline, diesel oil, kerosene, automotive lubricants, industrial kerosene, heavy oil, and aviation and marine fuel; and operation of hydrogen stations. Its Basic Chemicals segment manufactures and sells olefins, such as ethylene, propylene, and butadiene; aromatics, including benzene, styrene monomer, mixed xylene, and paraxylene; and other chemicals. The company's Functional Materials segment researches, develops, manufactures, and sells automotive, industrial, and marine lubricants, as well as grease; engineering plastic, adhesive materials, derivative products, and solvents; electronic materials, such as OLED; asphalt; microbial pesticides, soil amendments, and livestock related materials; and solid state lithium ion battery materials. Its Power and Renewable Energy segment operates thermal power plants; develops and operates renewable energy sources, including solar, wind, and biomass power plants; engages in the supply, wholesale, and retail of electric power; researches, develops, and manufactures CIS thin-film solar modules; and sells solar power systems. The company's Resources segments explores, develops, and produces oil and gas; produces and sells coal and uranium; operates geothermal power plants; and sale of electric power and steam. Idemitsu Kosan Co.,Ltd. was founded in 1911 and is headquartered in Tokyo, Japan.

About Icahn Enterprises

Icahn Enterprises L.P., through its subsidiaries, engages in the investment, energy, automotive, food packaging, real estate, home fashion, and pharma businesses in the United States and Internationally. The Investment segment invests its proprietary capital through various private investment funds. This segment provides investment advisory and other related services. The Energy segment refines and markets transportation fuels in the form of gasoline and diesel fuels, as well as renewable diesel; and manufactures nitrogen fertilizers in the form of urea ammonium nitrate and ammonia. The Automotive segment sells automotive parts and materials, and retailed merchandise; offers automotive repair and maintenance services; and leases real estate properties. The Food Packaging segment produces and sells cellulosic, fibrous, and plastic casings that are used to prepare and package processed meat products. The Real Estate segment is involved in the leasing of land, retail, office, and industrial properties; the development and sale of single-family homes; and the operation of country clubs. The Home Fashion segment manufactures, sources, markets, distributes, and sells home fashion consumer products. The Pharma segment offers pharmaceutical products and services. The company was incorporated in 1987 and is headquartered in Sunny Isles Beach, Florida.