Financial Review: International Flavors & Fragrances (NYSE:IFF) and KiOR (OTCMKTS:KIORQ)

International Flavors & Fragrances (NYSE:IFF) and KiOR (OTCMKTS:KIORQ) are both basic materials companies, but which is the superior stock? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their valuation, institutional ownership, earnings, risk, profitability, analyst recommendations and dividends.

Profitability

This table compares International Flavors & Fragrances and KiOR’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
International Flavors & Fragrances	2.12%	7.72%	3.72%
KiOR	N/A	N/A	N/A

Earnings and Valuation

This table compares International Flavors & Fragrances and KiOR”s gross revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
International Flavors & Fragrances	$11.48 billion	1.63	-$2.57 billion	$0.94	77.67
KiOR	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A

KiOR has lower revenue, but higher earnings than International Flavors & Fragrances.

Institutional and Insider Ownership

96.0% of International Flavors & Fragrances shares are held by institutional investors. 0.2% of International Flavors & Fragrances shares are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, endowments and hedge funds believe a stock will outperform the market over the long term.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a summary of recent ratings and price targets for International Flavors & Fragrances and KiOR, as provided by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
International Flavors & Fragrances	1	2	11	0	2.71
KiOR	0	0	0	0	0.00

International Flavors & Fragrances currently has a consensus price target of $103.31, indicating a potential upside of 41.51%. Given International Flavors & Fragrances’ stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, equities research analysts plainly believe International Flavors & Fragrances is more favorable than KiOR.

Summary

International Flavors & Fragrances beats KiOR on 9 of the 9 factors compared between the two stocks.

About International Flavors & Fragrances

International Flavors & Fragrances, Inc. engages in the manufacture and supply of flavors and fragrances used in the food, beverage, personal care, and household products industries. It operates through the following segments: Nourish, Health & Biosciences, Scent and Pharma Solutions. The Nourish segment consists of legacy Taste segment combined with N&B’s Food & Beverage division and the food protection business of N&B’s Health & Biosciences division. The Health & Biosciences business consists of a biotechnology-driven portfolio of enzymes, food cultures, probiotics and specialty ingredients for food, home and personal care, and health and wellness applications. The Scent business creates fragrance compounds, fragrance ingredients and cosmetic ingredients that are integral elements in the world’s finest perfumes and best-known household and personal care products. The Pharma Solutions business produces a vast portfolio including cellulosics and seaweed-based pharma excipients, used to improve the functionality and delivery of active pharmaceutical ingredients, including controlled or modified drug release formulations, and enabling. The company was founded in 1833 and is headquartered in New York, NY.

About KiOR

KiOR, Inc., incorporated on July 23, 2007, is a development-stage and is a next generation renewable fuels company. The Company is engaged in developing a commercial process to produce cellulosic gasoline and diesel from abundant, lignocellulosic biomass. The Company has developed a two-step technology platform that converts non-food lignocellulose into cellulosic gasoline and diesel that can be transported using the existing fuels distribution system for use in vehicles. The other renewable fuels are derived from soft starches, such as corn starch or cane sugar, for ethanol, or from soy and other vegetable oils for biodiesel, cellulosic fuel is derived from lignocellulose found in wood, grasses and the non-edible portions of plants. The Company has not generated any revenue.