Head-To-Head Analysis: Ajinomoto (OTCMKTS:AJINY) vs. Smurfit Kappa Group (OTCMKTS:SMFKY)

Smurfit Kappa Group (OTCMKTS:SMFKY) and Ajinomoto (OTCMKTS:AJINY) are both large-cap basic materials companies, but which is the better investment? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their profitability, earnings, valuation, risk, institutional ownership, dividends and analyst recommendations.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a summary of recent ratings for Smurfit Kappa Group and Ajinomoto, as reported by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Smurfit Kappa Group	0	0	0	0	N/A
Ajinomoto	0	0	1	0	3.00

Profitability

This table compares Smurfit Kappa Group and Ajinomoto’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Smurfit Kappa Group	N/A	N/A	N/A
Ajinomoto	5.72%	9.36%	4.72%

Valuation and Earnings

This table compares Smurfit Kappa Group and Ajinomoto”s revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Smurfit Kappa Group	$12.20 billion	0.98	$820.38 million	N/A	N/A
Ajinomoto	$9.97 billion	1.94	$601.14 million	$1.18	31.70

Smurfit Kappa Group has higher revenue and earnings than Ajinomoto.

Dividends

Smurfit Kappa Group pays an annual dividend of $1.81 per share and has a dividend yield of 3.9%. Ajinomoto pays an annual dividend of $0.27 per share and has a dividend yield of 0.7%. Ajinomoto pays out 22.9% of its earnings in the form of a dividend.

Insider and Institutional Ownership

0.0% of Smurfit Kappa Group shares are owned by institutional investors. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, hedge funds and large money managers believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Risk and Volatility

Smurfit Kappa Group has a beta of 1.2, suggesting that its stock price is 20% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Ajinomoto has a beta of 0.08, suggesting that its stock price is 92% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Summary

Smurfit Kappa Group beats Ajinomoto on 6 of the 11 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Smurfit Kappa Group

Smurfit Kappa Group Plc, together with its subsidiaries, manufactures, distributes, and sells containerboard, corrugated containers, and other paper-based packaging products in Ireland, Germany, France, Mexico, rest of Europe, and other Americas. The company offers e-commerce, retail, consumer, industrial, bottle, protective, heavy-duty, hexacomb, and various punnet packaging products; composite cardboard tubes, bags, and sacks; and bag-in-box, a packaging system that comprises films, accessories, bags, taps, and boxes. It also provides point of sale displays; cardboards of social distancing; corrugated sheet boards, solid board sheets, folding carton sheet boards, sack Kraft papers, MG brown Kraft papers, preprint products, agro-papers, technical papers, BanaBag, and Catcher Board MB12; and various types of containerboards, such as kraftliners, testliners, and containerboard flutings. In addition, the company offers recycling solutions to cardboard and paper products; and supplies packaging machinery. It primarily serves consumer goods, industrial goods, and food and drink sectors. Smurfit Kappa Group Plc was founded in 1934 and is headquartered in Dublin, Ireland.

About Ajinomoto

Ajinomoto Co., Inc. engages in the seasonings and foods, frozen foods, and healthcare and other businesses in Japan and internationally. The Seasonings and Foods segment offers sauces and flavored seasoning products under the AJI-NO-MOTO, HON-DASHI, Cook Do, Ajinomoto KK Consommé, Pure Select Mayonnaise, Ros Dee, Masako, Aji-ngon, Sazón, Sajiku, and CRISPY FRY names; and solutions and ingredients for foodservice and processed food manufacturers, processed foods, and restaurants, as well as industrial, retail, and other applications. This segment also provides instant noodles under the Knorr Cup Soup and YumYum names; coffee beverages under the Birdy and Blendy brands; powdered drink under the Birdy 3in1 name; MAXIM brand products; Chyotto Zeitakuna Kohiten brand products; and gift sets and office supplies comprising coffee vending machines, tea servers, etc. The Frozen Foods segment offers Chinese dumplings, cooked rice, noodles, desserts, shumai, processed chicken, and other products under the AJINOMOTO FRESH FROZEN, Bernardi, FRED'S, Golden Tiger, José Olé, LingLing, POSADA, and TAI PEI brands. The Healthcare and Other segment provides amino acids for applications in various industries, such as pharmaceuticals and foods; contract development and manufacturing services for pharmaceutical intermediates and active ingredients, aseptic fill finish services, etc.; personal care ingredients; and medical foods, crop services, etc. This segment also offers Ajinomoto Build-up Film, an interlayer insulating material for semiconductor packages; fundamental foods under the Glyna and Amino Aile names; sports nutrition supplements under the amino VITAL brand; activated carbon products; and functional materials, such as curing agents for epoxy resins and adhesives, and release paper. Ajinomoto Co., Inc. was founded in 1909 and is headquartered in Tokyo, Japan.