Head-To-Head Comparison: Avient (NYSE:AVNT) & Novozymes A/S (OTCMKTS:NVZMY)

Avient (NYSE:AVNT) and Novozymes A/S (OTCMKTS:NVZMY) are both materials companies, but which is the superior investment? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their institutional ownership, earnings, dividends, profitability, risk, valuation and analyst recommendations.

Dividends

Avient pays an annual dividend of $1.10 per share and has a dividend yield of 2.4%. Novozymes A/S pays an annual dividend of $0.81 per share and has a dividend yield of 1.2%. Avient pays out 59.5% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Novozymes A/S pays out 54.7% 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. Avient has raised its dividend for 1 consecutive years. Avient is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and longer track record of dividend growth.

Valuation and Earnings

This table compares Avient and Novozymes A/S”s gross revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Avient	$3.26 billion	1.30	$81.90 million	$1.85	25.02
Novozymes A/S	$4.70 billion	5.79	$660.28 million	$1.48	44.35

Novozymes A/S has higher revenue and earnings than Avient. Avient is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Novozymes A/S, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Institutional & Insider Ownership

95.5% of Avient shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 0.0% of Novozymes A/S shares are owned by institutional investors. 0.9% of Avient shares are owned by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, large money managers and hedge funds believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.

Analyst Ratings

This is a breakdown of current recommendations for Avient and Novozymes A/S, as reported by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Avient	0	3	3	0	2.50
Novozymes A/S	0	1	0	2	3.33

Avient currently has a consensus target price of $46.71, suggesting a potential upside of 0.93%. Given Avient’s higher possible upside, research analysts plainly believe Avient is more favorable than Novozymes A/S.

Profitability

This table compares Avient and Novozymes A/S’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Avient	5.10%	11.64%	4.67%
Novozymes A/S	14.22%	6.52%	4.30%

Volatility & Risk

Avient has a beta of 1.27, indicating that its share price is 27% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Novozymes A/S has a beta of 0.92, indicating that its share price is 8% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Summary

Avient beats Novozymes A/S on 10 of the 18 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Avient

Avient Corporation operates as a formulator of material solutions in the United States, Canada, Mexico, Europe, South America, and Asia. It operates in two segments, Color, Additives and Inks; and Specialty Engineered Materials. The Color, Additives and Inks segment offers custom color and additive concentrates in solid and liquid form for thermoplastics, dispersions for thermosets, and specialty inks; custom-formulated liquid system, such as polyester, vinyl, natural rubber and latex, polyurethane, and silicone; and proprietary inks. Its products are used in medical and pharmaceutical devices, food packaging, personal care and cosmetics, transportation, building products, wire and cable, recreational and athletic apparel, construction and filtration, outdoor furniture, healthcare, textiles and appliances, and industrial markets. The Specialty Engineered Materials segment provides specialty polymer formulations, services, and solutions for designers, assemblers, and processors of thermoplastic materials. It sells its products through direct sales personnel, distributors, and commissioned sales agents. The company was formerly known as PolyOne Corporation and changed its name to Avient Corporation in June 2020. Avient Corporation was founded in 1885 and is headquartered in Avon Lake, Ohio.

About Novozymes A/S

Novozymes A/S produces and sells industrial enzymes, microorganisms, and probiotics in Denmark, rest of Europe, North America, Asia Pacific, the Middle East, Africa, Latin America, and internationally. The company offers protein solutions for the food and beverage industry. It also offers industrial hygiene, drain openers, hard surface, medical cleaning, septic tanks, ware washing, and professional laundry services. In addition, the company provides dishwashing, softener, microbial and medical cleaning services. Further, it provides corn, cotton, forages, peanuts, pulses, soybeans, wheat, small grains, bioyield, and biocontrol solutions; warm water species, recirculating aquaculture system; animal health and nutrition solutions; fiber modification, bleach boosting, deposit control, and starch modification solutions. Additionally, the company provides carbon capture, leather and textiles solutions; enzyme solutions, including corn and wheat separation, liquefaction, saccharification, filtration, isomerization, maltose, and specialties solutions; warm water species and recirculating aquaculture system solutions; human health solutions, comprising brain, oral, protective and immune, and gastrointestinal health solutions; ethanol, biodiesel, renewable diesel, education, wastewater, and sewage sludge, and renewable diesel solutions; agriculture and industry, biogas food waste, food waste, biocatalysis, cell culture, diagnostics, enzyme, and biogas solutions. Furthermore, it provides lipases, proteases, oxidoreductases, and carbohydrases. Novozymes A/S was founded in 1925 and is based in Bagsvaerd, Denmark.