Standard Lithium (NYSE:SLI) and Olin (NYSE:OLN) Financial Contrast

Olin (NYSE:OLN) and Standard Lithium (NYSE:SLI) are both basic materials companies, but which is the better business? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their profitability, earnings, risk, valuation, institutional ownership, dividends and analyst recommendations.

Earnings & Valuation

This table compares Olin and Standard Lithium”s gross revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Olin	$6.83 billion	0.81	$460.20 million	$2.78	16.94
Standard Lithium	N/A	N/A	-$31.35 million	($0.23)	-6.98

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

Analyst Ratings

This is a breakdown of recent recommendations and price targets for Olin and Standard Lithium, as provided by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Olin	1	8	6	0	2.33
Standard Lithium	0	0	1	0	3.00

Olin presently has a consensus target price of $52.73, indicating a potential upside of 11.98%. Standard Lithium has a consensus target price of $3.50, indicating a potential upside of 118.07%. Given Standard Lithium’s stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, analysts plainly believe Standard Lithium is more favorable than Olin.

Dividends

Olin pays an annual dividend of $0.80 per share and has a dividend yield of 1.7%. Standard Lithium pays an annual dividend of $2.00 per share and has a dividend yield of 124.6%. Olin pays out 28.8% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Standard Lithium pays out -869.6% 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. Standard Lithium is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and lower payout ratio.

Volatility and Risk

Olin has a beta of 1.41, indicating that its share price is 41% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Standard Lithium has a beta of 1.89, indicating that its share price is 89% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Profitability

This table compares Olin and Standard Lithium’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Olin	4.26%	11.73%	3.43%
Standard Lithium	N/A	-15.67%	-14.05%

Insider & Institutional Ownership

88.7% of Olin shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 16.8% of Standard Lithium shares are owned by institutional investors. 1.6% of Olin shares are owned by insiders. Comparatively, 3.7% of Standard Lithium shares are owned by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, endowments and hedge funds believe a stock will outperform the market over the long term.

Summary

Olin beats Standard Lithium on 9 of the 15 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Olin

Olin Corporation manufactures and distributes chemical products in the United States, Europe, Asia Pacific, Latin America, and Canada. It operates through three segments: Chlor Alkali Products and Vinyls; Epoxy; and Winchester. The Chlor Alkali Products and Vinyls segment offers chlorine and caustic soda, ethylene dichloride and vinyl chloride monomers, methyl chloride, methylene chloride, chloroform, carbon tetrachloride, perchloroethylene, hydrochloric acid, hydrogen, bleach products, potassium hydroxide, and chlorinated organics intermediates and solvents. The Epoxy segment provides Allylics, such as allyl chloride, epichlorohydrin, and glycerin; aromatics, including acetone, bisphenol, cumene, and phenol; liquid and solid epoxy resins; and converted epoxy resins and additives. The Winchester segment offers sporting ammunition products, including shotshells, small caliber centerfire, and rimfire ammunition products for hunters and recreational shooters, and law enforcement agencies; small caliber military ammunition products for use in infantry and mounted weapons; and industrial products comprising gauge loads and powder-actuated tool loads for maintenance applications in power and concrete industries, and powder-actuated tools in construction industry. The company markets its products through its sales force, as well as directly to various industrial customers, mass merchants, retailers, wholesalers, gun clubs, other distributors, and the U.S. Government and its prime contractors. Olin Corporation was incorporated in 1892 and is based in Clayton, Missouri.

About Standard Lithium

Standard Lithium Ltd. explores for, develops, and processes lithium brine properties in the United States. Its flagship project is the Lanxess project with area of approximately 150,000 acres located in southern Arkansas. The company was formerly known as Patriot Petroleum Corp. and changed its name to Standard Lithium Ltd. in December 2016. Standard Lithium Ltd. was incorporated in 1998 and is headquartered in Vancouver, Canada.