Comparing FMC (NYSE:FMC) & Avient (NYSE:AVNT)

Avient (NYSE:AVNT) and FMC (NYSE:FMC) are both materials companies, but which is the better business? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their risk, analyst recommendations, institutional ownership, valuation, profitability, earnings and dividends.

Insider & Institutional Ownership

95.5% of Avient shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 91.9% of FMC shares are held by institutional investors. 0.9% of Avient shares are held by insiders. Comparatively, 0.8% of FMC shares are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, hedge funds and endowments believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Profitability

This table compares Avient and FMC’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%
FMC	-84.83%	11.35%	2.65%

Earnings & Valuation

This table compares Avient and FMC”s top-line revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Avient	$3.26 billion	1.14	$81.90 million	$1.85	21.81
FMC	$3.47 billion	0.32	-$2.24 billion	($22.00)	-0.41

Avient has higher earnings, but lower revenue than FMC. FMC is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Avient, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Dividends

Avient pays an annual dividend of $1.10 per share and has a dividend yield of 2.7%. FMC pays an annual dividend of $0.32 per share and has a dividend yield of 3.6%. Avient pays out 59.5% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. FMC pays out -1.5% 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 increased its dividend for 1 consecutive years. FMC is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and lower payout ratio.

Volatility and Risk

Avient has a beta of 1.29, meaning that its share price is 29% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, FMC has a beta of 0.41, meaning that its share price is 59% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Analyst Ratings

This is a summary of current recommendations for Avient and FMC, as provided by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Avient	0	2	3	1	2.83
FMC	3	7	4	0	2.07

Avient currently has a consensus target price of $46.71, suggesting a potential upside of 15.77%. FMC has a consensus target price of $14.38, suggesting a potential upside of 61.17%. Given FMC’s higher probable upside, analysts plainly believe FMC is more favorable than Avient.

Summary

Avient beats FMC on 13 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 FMC

FMC Corporation, an agricultural sciences company, provides crop protection, plant health, and professional pest and turf management products. It develops, markets, and sells crop protection chemicals that includes insecticides, herbicides, and fungicides; and biologicals, crop nutrition, and seed treatment products, which are used in agriculture to enhance crop yield and quality by controlling a range of insects, weeds, and diseases, as well as in non-agricultural markets for pest control. The company markets its products through its own sales organization and through alliance partners, independent distributors, and sales representatives. It operates in North America, Latin America, Europe, the Middle East, Africa, and Asia. The company was founded in 1883 and is headquartered in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.