Critical Analysis: Keyuan Petrochemicals (OTCMKTS:KEYP) and Methanex (NASDAQ:MEOH)

Keyuan Petrochemicals (OTCMKTS:KEYP) and Methanex (NASDAQ:MEOH) are both manufacturing companies, but which is the superior stock? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their risk, earnings, analyst recommendations, institutional ownership, valuation, dividends and profitability.

Insider and Institutional Ownership

73.5% of Methanex shares are owned by institutional investors. 1.0% of Methanex shares are owned by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, hedge funds and large money managers believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.

Analyst Ratings

This is a summary of current ratings and price targets for Keyuan Petrochemicals and Methanex, as reported by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Keyuan Petrochemicals	0	0	0	0	0.00
Methanex	0	3	4	1	2.75

Methanex has a consensus target price of $46.88, indicating a potential upside of 44.50%. Given Methanex’s stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, analysts clearly believe Methanex is more favorable than Keyuan Petrochemicals.

Earnings & Valuation

This table compares Keyuan Petrochemicals and Methanex”s top-line revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Keyuan Petrochemicals	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A
Methanex	$3.70 billion	0.59	$163.99 million	$2.98	10.89

Methanex has higher revenue and earnings than Keyuan Petrochemicals.

Profitability

This table compares Keyuan Petrochemicals and Methanex’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Keyuan Petrochemicals	N/A	N/A	N/A
Methanex	4.41%	10.97%	3.89%

Summary

Methanex beats Keyuan Petrochemicals on 10 of the 10 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Keyuan Petrochemicals

Keyuan Petrochemicals, Inc., through its subsidiaries, Ningbo Keyuan, Ningbo Keyuan Petrochemicals, Keyuan Synthetic Rubbers, Guangxi Keyuan and Zhongkexuneng, is engaged in the manufacture and sale of petrochemical products and rubber in the People’s Republic of China. The Company’s segments include the manufacture and sale of petrochemical products (petrochemical segment) and the manufacture and sale of rubber products (rubber segment). The Petrochemicals Segment includes the manufacturing and sales of mixed light aromatics, mixed heavy aromatics, fine propylene, propane, butane, liquefied petroleum gas (LPG), methyltert-butylether and styrene. The Rubber Segment includes the manufacturing and sales of various rubber products. It manufactures and supplies various petrochemical and rubber products, including petrochemical products, such as Benzene Toluene-Xylene Aromatics (BTX Aromatics), propylene, styrene, LPG, Methyl Tertiary Butyl Ether (MTBE) and rubber products.

About Methanex

Methanex Corporation produces and supplies methanol in China, Europe, the United States, South America, South Korea, Canada, and Asia. The company also purchases methanol produced by others under methanol offtake contracts and on the spot market. In addition, it owns and leases storage and terminal facilities. The company owns and manages a fleet of approximately 30 ocean-going vessels. It serves chemical and petrochemical producers. Methanex Corporation was incorporated in 1968 and is headquartered in Vancouver, Canada.