Contrasting Canfor Pulp Products (OTCMKTS:CFPUF) and Cascades (OTCMKTS:CADNF)

Canfor Pulp Products (OTCMKTS:CFPUF – Get Rating) and Cascades (OTCMKTS:CADNF – Get Rating) are both basic materials companies, but which is the better investment? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their earnings, profitability, dividends, analyst recommendations, valuation, risk and institutional ownership.

Institutional & Insider Ownership

74.1% of Canfor Pulp Products shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 21.8% of Cascades shares are held by institutional investors. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, endowments and large money managers believe a company will outperform the market over the long term.

Dividends

Canfor Pulp Products pays an annual dividend of $0.23 per share and has a dividend yield of 18.0%. Cascades pays an annual dividend of $0.16 per share and has a dividend yield of 1.9%. Canfor Pulp Products pays out 19.2% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Cascades pays out -16.0% 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.

Earnings & Valuation

This table compares Canfor Pulp Products and Cascades’ revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Canfor Pulp Products	N/A	N/A	N/A	$1.17	1.07
Cascades	N/A	N/A	N/A	($1.00)	-8.47

Cascades is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Canfor Pulp Products, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Analyst Ratings

This is a breakdown of current recommendations and price targets for Canfor Pulp Products and Cascades, as reported by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Canfor Pulp Products	0	0	2	0	3.00
Cascades	0	1	1	0	2.50

Canfor Pulp Products currently has a consensus target price of $4.63, indicating a potential upside of 270.00%. Cascades has a consensus target price of $13.10, indicating a potential upside of 54.66%. Given Canfor Pulp Products’ stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, analysts plainly believe Canfor Pulp Products is more favorable than Cascades.

Profitability

This table compares Canfor Pulp Products and Cascades’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Canfor Pulp Products	N/A	N/A	N/A
Cascades	N/A	N/A	N/A

Summary

Canfor Pulp Products beats Cascades on 7 of the 8 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Canfor Pulp Products

(Get Rating)

Canfor Pulp Products, Inc. engages in the manufacture, supply, and sale of pulp and paper products. It operates through the Pulp and Paper segments. The Pulp segment includes the purchase of residual fibre, and production and sale of pulp products in Northern Bleached Softwood Kraft and Bleached Chemi-Thermo Mechanical Pulp mills. The Paper segment produces and sells bleached, unbleached, and coloured kraft paper products. The company was founded in 1951 and is headquartered in Vancouver, Canada.

About Cascades

(Get Rating)

Cascades, Inc. engages in the production of packaging and tissue products composed mainly of recycled fibres. It operates through the Industrial Packaging and Consumer Product Packaging segments. The Industrial Packaging segment is active in specialty containers, structural components and paperboard, fibre composites and protective packaging markets. The Consumer Product Packaging segment designs and manufactures packaging for fresh foods, catering to the food processing, retailing and quick-service restaurant industries. The company was founded by Alain Lemaire, Bernard Lemaire and Laurent Lemaire on March 26, 1964 and is headquartered in Kingsey Falls, Canada.