Northern Technologies International (NTIC) Competitors

Northern Technologies International (NASDAQ:NTIC) and AZZ (NYSE:AZZ) are both basic materials companies, but which is the better business? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their valuation, risk, earnings, dividends, institutional ownership, media sentiment, profitability, community ranking and analyst recommendations.

Which has more volatility and risk, NTIC or AZZ?

Northern Technologies International has a beta of 0.62, suggesting that its share price is 38% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, AZZ has a beta of 1.26, suggesting that its share price is 26% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Do institutionals & insiders have more ownership in NTIC or AZZ?

32.9% of Northern Technologies International shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 90.9% of AZZ shares are owned by institutional investors. 22.1% of Northern Technologies International shares are owned by insiders. Comparatively, 2.1% of AZZ shares are owned by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, large money managers and endowments believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Which has stronger valuation and earnings, NTIC or AZZ?

AZZ has higher revenue and earnings than Northern Technologies International. AZZ is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Northern Technologies International, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Company	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Northern Technologies International	$79.90M	2.17	$2.91M	$0.52	35.42
AZZ	$1.54B	1.62	$101.61M	$3.43	24.45

Does the media prefer NTIC or AZZ?

In the previous week, Northern Technologies International had 2 more articles in the media than AZZ. MarketBeat recorded 6 mentions for Northern Technologies International and 4 mentions for AZZ. AZZ's average media sentiment score of 0.77 beat Northern Technologies International's score of 0.72 indicating that AZZ is being referred to more favorably in the news media.

Company	Very Positive	Positive	Neutral	Negative	Very Negative	Overall Sentiment
Northern Technologies International	1 Very Positive mention(s)	0 Positive mention(s)	2 Neutral mention(s)	1 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Positive
AZZ	1 Very Positive mention(s)	1 Positive mention(s)	1 Neutral mention(s)	0 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Positive

Is NTIC or AZZ a better dividend stock?

Northern Technologies International pays an annual dividend of $0.28 per share and has a dividend yield of 1.5%. AZZ pays an annual dividend of $0.68 per share and has a dividend yield of 0.8%. Northern Technologies International pays out 53.8% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. AZZ pays out 19.8% 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.

Does the MarketBeat Community prefer NTIC or AZZ?

AZZ received 118 more outperform votes than Northern Technologies International when rated by MarketBeat users. Likewise, 55.14% of users gave AZZ an outperform vote while only 51.60% of users gave Northern Technologies International an outperform vote.

Company	Underperform	Outperform
Northern Technologies International	Outperform Votes 177 51.60%	Underperform Votes 166 48.40%
AZZ	Outperform Votes 295 55.14%	Underperform Votes 240 44.86%

Is NTIC or AZZ more profitable?

AZZ has a net margin of 6.61% compared to Northern Technologies International's net margin of 6.12%. AZZ's return on equity of 15.66% beat Northern Technologies International's return on equity.

Company	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Northern Technologies International	6.12%	6.68%	5.37%
AZZ	6.61%	15.66%	6.02%

Do analysts prefer NTIC or AZZ?

Northern Technologies International currently has a consensus target price of $20.00, indicating a potential upside of 8.58%. AZZ has a consensus target price of $88.33, indicating a potential upside of 5.31%. Given Northern Technologies International's stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, analysts clearly believe Northern Technologies International is more favorable than AZZ.

Company	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Northern Technologies International	0 Sell rating(s)	0 Hold rating(s)	1 Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	3.00
AZZ	0 Sell rating(s)	1 Hold rating(s)	2 Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.67

Summary

AZZ beats Northern Technologies International on 13 of the 20 factors compared between the two stocks.