Ecosphere Technologies (OTCMKTS:ESPHQ) & Energy Recovery (NASDAQ:ERII) Critical Survey

Ecosphere Technologies (OTCMKTS:ESPHQ) and Energy Recovery (NASDAQ:ERII) are both industrials companies, but which is the superior stock? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their institutional ownership, earnings, profitability, risk, analyst recommendations, valuation and dividends.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a summary of recent ratings and price targets for Ecosphere Technologies and Energy Recovery, as provided by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Ecosphere Technologies	0	0	0	0	0.00
Energy Recovery	0	1	2	2	3.20

Energy Recovery has a consensus price target of $18.6667, indicating a potential upside of 28.82%. Given Energy Recovery’s stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, analysts plainly believe Energy Recovery is more favorable than Ecosphere Technologies.

Insider and Institutional Ownership

83.6% of Energy Recovery shares are held by institutional investors. 18.4% of Ecosphere Technologies shares are held by company insiders. Comparatively, 3.2% of Energy Recovery shares are held by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, hedge funds and large money managers believe a company will outperform the market over the long term.

Earnings & Valuation

This table compares Ecosphere Technologies and Energy Recovery”s gross revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Ecosphere Technologies	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A
Energy Recovery	$144.95 million	5.32	$23.05 million	$0.42	34.50

Energy Recovery has higher revenue and earnings than Ecosphere Technologies.

Profitability

This table compares Ecosphere Technologies and Energy Recovery’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Ecosphere Technologies	N/A	N/A	N/A
Energy Recovery	17.02%	11.67%	10.23%

Summary

Energy Recovery beats Ecosphere Technologies on 9 of the 10 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Ecosphere Technologies

Ecosphere Technologies, Inc., a technology development and intellectual property licensing company, develops environmental solutions for the water, agriculture, energy, and industrial markets worldwide. The company offers Ozonix water treatment technology, an advanced oxidation process that is designed to treat and recycle industrial wastewater without the use of toxic chemicals. Its Ozonix water treatment technology is used in oil and natural gas, mining, agriculture, energy, food and beverage, industrial, and marine, as well as for municipal wastewater treatment applications. The company also provides Ecos PowerCube, a mobile and solar powered generator, which increases the total amount of solar power generation that is used in various markets, including off-grid agricultural, military, emergency/disaster relief, and humanitarian and wireless communication efforts for remote applications. In addition, it offers Ecos GrowCube, a fully-automated hydroponic growing system, which increases the crop production. Ecosphere Technologies, Inc. was founded in 1998 and is headquartered in Stuart, Florida. On December 5, 2019, the voluntary petition of Ecosphere Technologies, Inc. for reorganization under Chapter 11 was converted to Chapter 7. It had filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy on December 21, 2018.

About Energy Recovery

Energy Recovery, Inc., together with its subsidiaries, designs, manufactures, and sells energy efficiency technology solutions in the Americas, the Middle East, Africa, Asia, and Europe. The company operates through Water and Emerging Technologies segments. The company offers high and low pressure, and ultra pressure exchangers; AT and LPT hydraulic turbochargers; and high-pressure feed and circulation booster pumps for use in seawater and brackish desalination, and wastewater treatment. It also provides PX G1300, which reduces energy consumption and operating costs of carbon dioxide-based refrigeration systems; and spare parts, as well as repair, field, and commissioning services. It sells its products under the ERI, PX, Pressure Exchanger, PX Pressure Exchanger, Ultra PX, PX G, PX G1300, PX PowerTrain, AT, and Aquabold brands to original equipment manufacturers, supermarket chains, cold storage facilities, refrigeration system installers, and other industrial users; aftermarket customers consisting of desalination plant owners and operators; and project developers, end-users, and industry consultants, as well as engineering, procurement, and construction firms. Energy Recovery, Inc. was incorporated in 1992 and is headquartered in San Leandro, California.