Comparing 5N Plus (OTCMKTS:FPLSF) & Innospec (NASDAQ:IOSP)

Innospec (NASDAQ:IOSP) and 5N Plus (OTCMKTS:FPLSF) are both materials companies, but which is the better business? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their analyst recommendations, profitability, valuation, institutional ownership, earnings, risk and dividends.

Risk & Volatility

Innospec has a beta of 0.93, meaning that its stock price is 7% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, 5N Plus has a beta of 1.86, meaning that its stock price is 86% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Profitability

This table compares Innospec and 5N Plus’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Innospec	6.60%	9.22%	6.74%
5N Plus	14.14%	26.36%	11.28%

Insider & Institutional Ownership

96.6% of Innospec shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 0.1% of 5N Plus shares are held by institutional investors. 1.4% of Innospec shares are held by insiders. Comparatively, 3.9% of 5N Plus shares are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, hedge funds and large money managers believe a stock will outperform the market over the long term.

Analyst Ratings

This is a breakdown of recent ratings and recommmendations for Innospec and 5N Plus, as provided by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Innospec	0	2	0	0	2.00
5N Plus	0	1	2	1	3.00

Valuation & Earnings

This table compares Innospec and 5N Plus”s revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Innospec	$1.78 billion	1.37	$116.60 million	$4.90	20.15
5N Plus	$391.06 million	4.82	$50.57 million	$0.70	29.94

Innospec has higher revenue and earnings than 5N Plus. Innospec is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than 5N Plus, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Summary

5N Plus beats Innospec on 10 of the 14 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Innospec

Innospec Inc. develops, manufactures, blends, markets, and supplies specialty chemicals in the United States, rest of North America, the United Kingdom, rest of Europe, and internationally. The company's Fuel Specialties segment offers a range of specialty chemical products that are used as additives in additives in diesel, jet, marine, fuel oil and other fuels. This segment's products are used in the operation of commercial trucking, marine and aviation engines, power station generators, heating oil, and other industrial machinery applications. Its Performance Chemicals segment provides technology-based solutions for its customers' processes or products that focuses on the personal care, home care, agrochemical, construction, mining, and other industrial markets. The company's Oilfield Services segment develops and markets chemical solutions for drilling, completion, fracturing, stimulation, and completion operations; and products for oil and gas production. It sells its products primarily to oil and gas exploration and production companies, oil refineries, fuel manufacturers and users, personal care and home care companies, formulators of agrochemical, and other chemical and industrial companies. The company was formerly known as Octel Corp. and changed its name to Innospec Inc. in January 2006. Innospec Inc. was founded in 1938 and is headquartered in Englewood, Colorado.

About 5N Plus

5N Plus Inc. produces and sells specialty metals and chemicals in North America, Europe, and Asia. It operates through two segments, Specialty Semiconductors and Performance Materials. The company offers semiconductor compounds, semiconductor wafers, metals, epitaxial semiconductor substrates, and solar cells. It also provides active pharmaceutical ingredients, animal feed additives, specialized chemicals, commercial grade metals, alloys, engineered powders, and recycling services. The company serves renewable energy, security, space, pharmaceutical, medical imaging, manufacturing, electronic, consumer, and industrial application markets. 5N Plus Inc. is headquartered in Montreal, Canada.