Sysmex (OTCMKTS:SSMXY) & Ajinomoto (OTCMKTS:AJINY) Head-To-Head Survey

Ajinomoto (OTCMKTS:AJINY) and Sysmex (OTCMKTS:SSMXY) are both large-cap consumer staples companies, but which is the superior stock? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their risk, dividends, profitability, valuation, analyst recommendations, institutional ownership and earnings.

Analyst Ratings

This is a summary of recent recommendations and price targets for Ajinomoto and Sysmex, as provided by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Ajinomoto	0	0	1	0	3.00
Sysmex	0	0	0	0	N/A

Risk and Volatility

Ajinomoto has a beta of 0.09, indicating that its stock price is 91% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Sysmex has a beta of 0.69, indicating that its stock price is 31% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Profitability

This table compares Ajinomoto and Sysmex’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Ajinomoto	6.78%	11.16%	5.79%
Sysmex	10.25%	11.15%	8.23%

Dividends

Ajinomoto pays an annual dividend of $0.30 per share and has a dividend yield of 0.8%. Sysmex pays an annual dividend of $0.13 per share and has a dividend yield of 0.7%. Ajinomoto pays out 23.1% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Sysmex pays out 25.7% 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. Ajinomoto is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and lower payout ratio.

Valuation & Earnings

This table compares Ajinomoto and Sysmex’s revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Ajinomoto	$10.06 billion	1.97	$696.09 million	$1.30	29.23
Sysmex	$3.04 billion	3.59	$338.80 million	$0.51	34.24

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

Summary

Ajinomoto beats Sysmex on 7 of the 12 factors compared between the two stocks.

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.

About Sysmex

Sysmex Corporation engages in the development, manufacture, and sale of diagnostic instruments, reagents, and related software in Japan. It offers three-part and five-part white blood cell differentiation instruments for use in hematology; and transport systems for high-volume testing in labs. The company also provides automated urine particle analyzers; automated blood coagulation analyzers; automated immunochemistry systems, which perform assays on minute sample quantities, as well as reagents to test for infectious disease and tumor markers; and flow cytometers to perform analysis in diagnosing leukemia, malignant lymphoma, and HIV/AIDS. In addition, it offers cancer lymph node metastasis testing systems to detect information to help in diagnosing lymph node metastasis; and lab assay services. Further, the company is involved in the development and sale of software for diagnostic information systems; provision of facility management, office, welfare, and genetic analysis services; development, operation, and maintenance of IT solutions, platforms, and applications related to digital medicine; marketing, development, design, manufacture, sale, and after-sales service related to medical robots; and distribution and after sales support of medical devices and reagents for biotechnology, medical technology, and molecular cell analysis. Additionally, it researches, develops, manufactures, and sells regenerative medicine products; develops, manufactures, and sells biodevices; develops, maintains, and sells computer software; and offers blood DNA testing service. The company serves national and other public hospitals, private hospitals, universities, research institutes, other medical institutions, etc. It also exports its products to approximately 190 countries. The company was formerly known as TOA Medical Electronics Co., Ltd. and changed its name to Sysmex Corporation in October 1998. Sysmex Corporation was founded in 1968 and is headquartered in Kobe, Japan.