Critical Review: CCL Industries (OTCMKTS:CCDBF) versus Hexagon Composites ASA (OTCMKTS:HXGCF)

Hexagon Composites ASA (OTCMKTS:HXGCF) and CCL Industries (OTCMKTS:CCDBF) are both consumer cyclical companies, but which is the better stock? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their valuation, profitability, institutional ownership, earnings, dividends, risk and analyst recommendations.

Dividends

Hexagon Composites ASA pays an annual dividend of $0.25 per share and has a dividend yield of 6.1%. CCL Industries pays an annual dividend of $1.02 per share and has a dividend yield of 1.8%. Hexagon Composites ASA pays out 25.3% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. CCL Industries pays out 18.6% 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.

Valuation and Earnings

This table compares Hexagon Composites ASA and CCL Industries”s top-line revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Hexagon Composites ASA	N/A	N/A	N/A	$0.98	4.13
CCL Industries	N/A	N/A	N/A	$5.45	10.11

Hexagon Composites ASA is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than CCL Industries, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Profitability

This table compares Hexagon Composites ASA and CCL Industries’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Hexagon Composites ASA	N/A	N/A	N/A
CCL Industries	N/A	N/A	N/A

Analyst Recommendations

This is a summary of current ratings and target prices for Hexagon Composites ASA and CCL Industries, as reported by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Hexagon Composites ASA	0	0	0	0	0.00
CCL Industries	0	0	1	0	3.00

CCL Industries has a consensus target price of $84.00, suggesting a potential upside of 52.43%. Given CCL Industries’ stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, analysts clearly believe CCL Industries is more favorable than Hexagon Composites ASA.

Institutional and Insider Ownership

16.8% of Hexagon Composites ASA shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 37.2% of CCL Industries shares are owned by institutional investors. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, hedge funds and endowments believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Summary

CCL Industries beats Hexagon Composites ASA on 7 of the 8 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Hexagon Composites ASA

Hexagon Composites ASA, together with its subsidiaries, engages in the manufacture and sale of composite pressure cylinders and fuel systems for alternative fuels worldwide. The company operates through Hexagon Agility, Hexagon Ragasco, and Hexagon Digital Wave segments. The Hexagon Agility segment provides clean fuel solutions for commercial vehicles, passenger vehicles, and gaseous energy transportation; and gas distribution solutions. The Hexagon Ragasco segment manufacturers composite liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) cylinders for leisure, household, and industrial applications. The Hexagon Digital Wave segment offers cylinder testing and monitoring technology solutions that reduce cylinder and system down-time and inspection costs while improving inspection accuracy. Hexagon Composites ASA was founded in 1985 and is headquartered in Ålesund, Norway.

About CCL Industries

CCL Industries Inc. manufactures and sells labels, consumer printable media products, technology-driven label solutions, polymer banknote substrates, and specialty films. It operates through CCL, Avery, Checkpoint, and Innovia segments. The CCL segment converts pressure sensitive and extruded film materials for a range of decorative, instructional, security, and functional applications for government institutions and global customers in consumer packaging, healthcare, chemicals, consumer durables, electronic device, and automotive markets. The Avery segment supplies labels, specialty converted media, and software solutions to enable short-run digital printing in businesses and homes alongside complementary products sold through distributors, mass-market stores, and e-commerce retailers. The Checkpoint segment engages in developing radio frequency and radio frequency identification-based technology systems for loss prevention and inventory management applications, including labeling and tagging solutions for the retail and apparel industries. The Innovia segment supplies biaxially oriented polypropylene films to customers in the pressure sensitive label materials, flexible packaging, and consumer packaged goods industries. The company operates in Canada, the United States, Puerto Rico, Mexico, Brazil, Chile, Argentina, Europe, Asia, Australia, Africa, and New Zealand. CCL Industries Inc. was founded in 1951 and is headquartered in Toronto, Canada.