Orion (NYSE:OEC) and Zentek (NASDAQ:ZTEK) Financial Contrast

Orion (NYSE:OEC) and Zentek (NASDAQ:ZTEK) are both small-cap basic materials companies, but which is the better business? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their dividends, valuation, institutional ownership, earnings, profitability, risk and analyst recommendations.

Volatility & Risk

Orion has a beta of 1.59, suggesting that its stock price is 59% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Zentek has a beta of 0.78, suggesting that its stock price is 22% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Institutional and Insider Ownership

89.9% of Orion shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 0.7% of Zentek shares are held by institutional investors. 6.3% of Orion shares are held by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, endowments and large money managers believe a stock will outperform the market over the long term.

Profitability

This table compares Orion and Zentek’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Orion	5.92%	27.96%	6.80%
Zentek	N/A	-44.21%	-40.06%

Analyst Ratings

This is a breakdown of current ratings for Orion and Zentek, as reported by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Orion	0	1	2	0	2.67
Zentek	0	0	0	0	N/A

Orion presently has a consensus price target of $26.50, suggesting a potential upside of 20.13%. Given Orion’s higher possible upside, equities research analysts clearly believe Orion is more favorable than Zentek.

Valuation and Earnings

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

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Orion	$2.03 billion	0.64	$106.20 million	$1.93	11.43
Zentek	$50,000.00	2,786.84	-$10.90 million	($0.08)	-17.50

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

Summary

Orion beats Zentek on 12 of the 13 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Orion

Orion S.A., together with its subsidiaries, manufactures and sells carbon black products. It operates in two segments, Specialty Carbon Black and Rubber Carbon Black. The company offers post-treated specialty carbon black grades for coatings and printing applications; high purity carbon black grades for the fiber industry; and conductive carbon black grades for polymers, coatings, and battery electrodes. It also provides rubber carbon black products for applications in mechanical rubber goods under the PUREX brand, as well as in tires under the ECORAX brand name. It operates in Germany, the United States, South Korea, Brazil, China, South Africa, Rest of Europe, and internationally. The company was formerly known as Orion Engineered Carbons S.A. and changed its name to Orion S.A. in June 2023. Orion S.A. was founded in 1862 and is based in Houston, Texas.

About Zentek

Zentek Ltd. engages in the research and development of graphene and related nanomaterials in Canada. It owns 100% interest in the Albany Graphite project located in Northern Ontario, Canada. The company develops graphene-based antimicrobial coating under the ZenGUARD brand, surgical masks, HVAC filters, personal protective equipment, rapid detection point of care diagnostics tests, and pharmaceutical products based on graphene-based compound. In addition, it develops graphene oxide synthesis and graphene synthesis. The company was formerly known as ZEN Graphene Solutions Ltd. and changed its name to Zentek Ltd. in October 2021. Zentek Ltd. was incorporated in 2008 and is headquartered in Thunder Bay, Canada.