Gulf Resources (NASDAQ:GURE) & PPG Industries (NYSE:PPG) Head-To-Head Analysis
by Kim Johansen · The Markets DailyPPG Industries (NYSE:PPG – Get Free Report) and Gulf Resources (NASDAQ:GURE – Get Free Report) are both materials companies, but which is the superior investment? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their risk, analyst recommendations, profitability, institutional ownership, valuation, earnings and dividends.
Earnings and Valuation
This table compares PPG Industries and Gulf Resources”s revenue, earnings per share and valuation.
| Gross Revenue | Price/Sales Ratio | Net Income | Earnings Per Share | Price/Earnings Ratio | |
| PPG Industries | $16.42 billion | 1.46 | $1.58 billion | $6.98 | 15.45 |
| Gulf Resources | $30.73 million | 0.17 | -$43.92 million | ($29.52) | -0.10 |
PPG Industries has higher revenue and earnings than Gulf Resources. Gulf Resources is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than PPG Industries, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.
Profitability
This table compares PPG Industries and Gulf Resources’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.
| Net Margins | Return on Equity | Return on Assets | |
| PPG Industries | 9.57% | 21.07% | 7.80% |
| Gulf Resources | -134.41% | -8.95% | -7.40% |
Insider & Institutional Ownership
81.9% of PPG Industries shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 3.3% of Gulf Resources shares are held by institutional investors. 0.3% of PPG Industries shares are held by insiders. Comparatively, 7.7% of Gulf Resources shares are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, endowments and large money managers believe a company is poised for long-term growth.
Analyst Recommendations
This is a breakdown of recent ratings and price targets for PPG Industries and Gulf Resources, as provided by MarketBeat.com.
| Sell Ratings | Hold Ratings | Buy Ratings | Strong Buy Ratings | Rating Score | |
| PPG Industries | 0 | 9 | 8 | 1 | 2.56 |
| Gulf Resources | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1.00 |
PPG Industries presently has a consensus target price of $126.12, indicating a potential upside of 16.98%. Given PPG Industries’ stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, research analysts clearly believe PPG Industries is more favorable than Gulf Resources.
Volatility & Risk
PPG Industries has a beta of 1.06, meaning that its share price is 6% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Gulf Resources has a beta of -0.02, meaning that its share price is 102% less volatile than the S&P 500.
Summary
PPG Industries beats Gulf Resources on 14 of the 15 factors compared between the two stocks.
About PPG Industries
PPG Industries, Inc. manufactures and distributes paints, coatings, and specialty materials in the United States, Canada, the Asia Pacific, Latin America, Europe, the Middle East, and Africa. It operates through two segments, Performance Coatings and Industrial Coatings. The Performance Coatings segment offers coatings, solvents, adhesives, sealants, sundries, and software for automotive and commercial transport/fleet repair and refurbishing, light industrial coatings, and specialty coatings for signs; wood stains; paints, thermoplastics, pavement marking products, and other advanced technologies for pavement marking for government, commercial infrastructure, painting, and maintenance contractors; and coatings, sealants, transparencies, transparent armor, adhesives, engineered materials, and packaging and chemical management services for commercial, military, regional jet, and general aviation aircraft. The Industrial Coatings segment offers coatings, adhesives and sealants, and metal pretreatments, as well as services and coatings applications for appliances, agricultural and construction equipment, consumer electronics, automotive parts and accessories, building products, kitchenware, and transportation vehicles and other finished products; and on-site coatings services. It also provides coatings for metal cans, closures, plastic and aluminum tubes for food, beverage and personal care, promotional, and specialty packaging; amorphous precipitated silica for tire, battery separator, and other end-uses; TESLIN substrates for labels, e-passports, drivers' licenses, breathable membranes, and loyalty and identification cards; and organic light emitting diode materials, displays and lighting lens materials, optical lenses, color-change products, and photochromic dyes. PPG Industries, Inc. was incorporated in 1883 and is headquartered in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.
About Gulf Resources
Gulf Resources, Inc., through its subsidiaries, manufactures and trades bromine and crude salt, chemical products, and natural gas in the People’s Republic of China. The company operates through four segments: Bromine, Crude salt, Chemical products, and Natural gas segments. It also provides bromine for use in bromine compounds, intermediates in organic synthesis, brominated flame retardants, fumigants, water purification compounds, dyes, medicines, and disinfectants. In addition, the company offers crude salt for use as a material in alkali and chlorine alkali production for use in the chemical, food and beverage, and other industries. In addition, it manufactures and sells chemical products for use in oil and gas field exploration, oil and gas distribution, oil field drilling, papermaking chemical agents, and inorganic chemicals, as well as materials that are used for human and animal antibiotics. The company is based in Shouguang, the People’s Republic of China.