Comparing Arcadium Lithium (NYSE:ALTM) & Sasol (OTCMKTS:SASOF)

Sasol (OTCMKTS:SASOF) and Arcadium Lithium (NYSE:ALTM) are both basic materials companies, but which is the better business? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their dividends, valuation, analyst recommendations, institutional ownership, risk, profitability and earnings.

Dividends

Sasol pays an annual dividend of $18.11 per share and has a dividend yield of 248.4%. Arcadium Lithium pays an annual dividend of $6.00 per share and has a dividend yield of 232.1%. Sasol pays out 37.5% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Arcadium Lithium pays out 576.9% of its earnings in the form of a dividend, suggesting it may not have sufficient earnings to cover its dividend payment in the future. Sasol is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and lower payout ratio.

Valuation and Earnings

This table compares Sasol and Arcadium Lithium”s gross revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Sasol	N/A	N/A	N/A	$48.27	0.15
Arcadium Lithium	$1.21 billion	2.30	$1.12 billion	$1.04	2.49

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

Profitability

This table compares Sasol and Arcadium Lithium’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Sasol	N/A	N/A	N/A
Arcadium Lithium	N/A	N/A	N/A

Institutional & Insider Ownership

20.8% of Sasol shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 27.0% of Arcadium Lithium shares are held by institutional investors. 0.4% of Arcadium Lithium shares are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, endowments and large money managers believe a stock will outperform the market over the long term.

Analyst Ratings

This is a summary of current ratings for Sasol and Arcadium Lithium, as reported by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Sasol	0	0	0	0	N/A
Arcadium Lithium	0	1	1	0	2.50

Arcadium Lithium has a consensus price target of $11.00, indicating a potential upside of 325.53%. Given Arcadium Lithium’s higher possible upside, analysts plainly believe Arcadium Lithium is more favorable than Sasol.

Summary

Arcadium Lithium beats Sasol on 6 of the 9 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Sasol

Sasol Limited operates as an integrated chemical and energy company in South Africa. It offers alumina, such as battery materials, catalyst supports, abrasives and polishing, and polymer additives; cobalt fischer-tropsch; carbon-based products; recarburiser; graphite electrodes; mono-ethylene glycol, ethylene, propylene, sasfroth blends, sodium cyanide, caustic soda, hydrochloric acid, sulfuric acid, calcium chloride, chlorine, alcohols, aromatic blends, methyl alcohol, polyethylene, polypropylene, polyvinyl chloride, cresols, xylenols, phenols, limestone ammonium nitrate, ammonium nitrate solution, and nitric acid. The company also provides linear alkyl benzene, sulfonate, fatty alcohols, alkoxylates, ether sulfates, solvents, dispersants, diluents esters, macrogol/PEG, AHA esters, waxes, dispersants, diluents, ethanol, isopropyl, acetone, MIBK and ethyl acetate, C6-C20+ and guerbet alcohols, ethoxylates, propoxylates, carboxylates, sulfates, sulfonates, LAS salts, paraffins, and ethylene oxide. In addition, it offers alcohols, esters, ethers, carboxylic acids, surfactants, oil and water soluble polyglycols, formulation and surface modifiers, solvents and coalescents, wax cuts, blends and forms, FT hard waxes, waxes and blends, lubrication packages, plasticizers, nucleators, release agents, emulsifiers, dispersants, wetting agents, tank-mix adjuvant components, fertiliser additives, specialty solvents, specialty grade acetone, MEK, various ethanol blends, n and i-propanol and butanol, various C4+ alcohols, ethyl and butyl acrylate monomers, octene, hexene, and pentene. Further, it explores, develops, produces, markets, and distributes natural oil and gas, and associated products; markets fuels and lubricants; develops lower-carbon energy solutions; operates coal mines; trades and transports oil, petrochemicals, and chemical products and derivatives; and provides engineering services. Sasol Limited was founded in 1950 and is based in Johannesburg, South Africa.

About Arcadium Lithium

Arcadium Lithium plc engages in the production of lithium chemicals products in the Asia Pacific, North America, Europe, the Middle East, Africa, and Latin America. It offers battery-grade lithium hydroxide, lithium carbonate, butyllithium and high purity lithium metal for electric vehicles, electronics, agricultural, industrial, greases, polymers, pharmaceutical, battery, and aerospace applications. The company also owns interest in various properties located in Argentina, Canada, and Western Australia. Arcadium Lithium plc was founded in 1944 and is based in Shannon, Ireland.