Head-To-Head Analysis: Basf (OTCMKTS:BASFY) versus FUCHS (OTCMKTS:FUPBY)

FUCHS (OTCMKTS:FUPBY) and Basf (OTCMKTS:BASFY) are both materials companies, but which is the superior business? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their dividends, risk, valuation, institutional ownership, earnings, analyst recommendations and profitability.

Profitability

This table compares FUCHS and Basf’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
FUCHS	9.04%	17.40%	12.30%
Basf	9.40%	5.66%	2.51%

Valuation and Earnings

This table compares FUCHS and Basf”s gross revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
FUCHS	$4.03 billion	1.65	$346.21 million	$0.75	16.91
Basf	$67.48 billion	0.78	$1.83 billion	$1.94	7.62

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

Volatility & Risk

FUCHS has a beta of 0.9, meaning that its stock price is 10% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Basf has a beta of 0.76, meaning that its stock price is 24% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a breakdown of current ratings and recommmendations for FUCHS and Basf, as reported by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
FUCHS	0	2	2	1	2.80
Basf	1	3	4	1	2.56

Institutional & Insider Ownership

0.0% of Basf shares are owned by institutional investors. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, large money managers and hedge funds believe a stock will outperform the market over the long term.

Dividends

FUCHS pays an annual dividend of $0.20 per share and has a dividend yield of 1.6%. Basf pays an annual dividend of $0.47 per share and has a dividend yield of 3.2%. FUCHS pays out 26.7% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Basf pays out 24.2% 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. Basf is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and lower payout ratio.

Summary

Basf beats FUCHS on 9 of the 14 factors compared between the two stocks.

About FUCHS

Fuchs SE develops, produces, and sells lubricants and related specialties in Europe, the Middle East, Africa, the Asia Pacific, and North and South America. The company offers automotive lubricants, such as biodegradable lubricants, central and mobile hydraulic oils, dry coatings, engine and gear oils, motorcycle/two wheelers, and service fluids, as well as various oils for agriculture sector. It also provides industrial lubricants, including chain lubricants, dry coatings, gear and hydraulic oils, machine oils, open gear lubricants, rapidly biodegradable lubricants, compressor and refrigeration oils, release agents, slideways oils, fluids and industrial oils, textile machine oils, and turbine oils. In addition, the company offers lubricating greases comprising assembly pastes, biodegradable greases, food grade greases, multi-purpose/long-life greases, pastes for extreme temperatures, perfluorinated pastes, and wheel bearing greases, as well as gear boxes, and greases for central lubricating system, extreme temperature, machine tools, plain and roller bearings, rail vehicles, spray cans or rattle cans, and solid lubricants. Further, it provides metal processing lubricants consisting of cleaners, corrosion preventives, cutting and grinding, forming lubricants, and quenching oils; and special application lubricants for application equipment, chain lubrication, dry coatings, food and beverage, gears, sugar processing, railway traffic, plain and roller bearings, glass manufacturing process, hot forming, maintenance, open gears, pastes, release agents, other specialties, special greases, and wind power plants. Additionally, the company offers open gear and surface coating services. The company was formerly known as Fuchs Petrolub SE and changed its name to Fuchs SE in July 2023. Fuchs SE was founded in 1931 and is headquartered in Mannheim, Germany.

About Basf

BASF SE operates as a chemical company worldwide. It operates through six segments: Chemicals, Materials, Industrial Solutions, Surface Technologies, Nutrition & Care, and Agricultural Solutions. The Chemicals segment provides petrochemicals and intermediates. The Materials segment offers advanced materials and their precursors for applications and systems comprising isocyanates, polyamides, and inorganic basic products, as well as specialties for plastics and plastics processing industries. The Industrial Solutions segment develops and markets ingredients and additives for industrial applications, such as polymer dispersions, resins, additives, electronic materials, and antioxidants for automotive, plastics, paints and coatings, electronics, and energy and resource industries. The Surface Technologies segment provides automotive OEM and refinish coatings, surface treatment, catalysts, battery materials, and precious and base metal services for the automotive and chemical sectors. The Nutrition & Care segment offers ingredients for consumer goods in the areas of nutrition, home, personal care, and technical applications; and serves the food and feed producers, pharmaceutical, cosmetics, detergents, cleaners, and crop protection industries, as well as fast-moving consumer goods sector. The Agricultural Solutions segment provides seeds and seed treatment products; fungicides, herbicides, insecticides, and biological crop protection products; and digital farming solutions. The company engages in engineering and other; rental and leasing; and commodity trading activities. BASF SE was founded in 1865 and is headquartered in Ludwigshafen am Rhein, Germany.