Alto Ingredients (NASDAQ:ALTO) & Hengan International Group (OTCMKTS:HEGIY) Head-To-Head Review

Alto Ingredients (NASDAQ:ALTO) and Hengan International Group (OTCMKTS:HEGIY) are both consumer discretionary companies, but which is the better business? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their valuation, dividends, earnings, analyst recommendations, profitability, institutional ownership and risk.

Valuation and Earnings

This table compares Alto Ingredients and Hengan International Group”s gross revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Alto Ingredients	$965.26 million	0.09	-$58.98 million	($0.92)	-1.23
Hengan International Group	$3.15 billion	1.25	$319.73 million	N/A	N/A

Hengan International Group has higher revenue and earnings than Alto Ingredients.

Profitability

This table compares Alto Ingredients and Hengan International Group’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Alto Ingredients	-7.16%	-18.78%	-10.60%
Hengan International Group	N/A	N/A	N/A

Insider & Institutional Ownership

42.4% of Alto Ingredients shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 0.0% of Hengan International Group shares are owned by institutional investors. 5.3% of Alto Ingredients shares are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, large money managers and endowments believe a company will outperform the market over the long term.

Risk and Volatility

Alto Ingredients has a beta of 0.67, suggesting that its share price is 33% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Hengan International Group has a beta of 0.13, suggesting that its share price is 87% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Analyst Ratings

This is a breakdown of recent ratings and target prices for Alto Ingredients and Hengan International Group, as provided by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Alto Ingredients	1	0	1	0	2.00
Hengan International Group	0	0	0	0	0.00

Alto Ingredients currently has a consensus price target of $5.50, suggesting a potential upside of 386.73%. Given Alto Ingredients’ stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, analysts clearly believe Alto Ingredients is more favorable than Hengan International Group.

About Alto Ingredients

Alto Ingredients, Inc. produces, distributes, and markets specialty alcohols, renewable fuel, and essential ingredients in the United States. The company operates in three segments: Marketing and Distribution, Pekin Campus Production, and Western Production. It offers specialty alcohols used in mouthwash, cosmetics, pharmaceuticals, hand sanitizers, disinfectants, and cleaners for health, home, and beauty markets; grain neutral spirits used in alcoholic beverages and vinegar, as well as corn germ used in corn oils in the food and beverage markets; alcohols and other products for paint applications and fertilizers in the industrial and agriculture markets; and essential ingredients include dried yeast, corn protein meal, corn protein feed, distiller's grains, and liquid feed for commercial animal feed and pet food applications, as well as yeast for human consumption. The company also provides fuel-grade ethanol used as transportation fuel and distillers corn oil used as a biodiesel feedstock, as well as fuel-grade ethanol produced by third parties. In addition, it offers transportation, storage, and delivery services through third-party service providers. The company sells ethanol to integrated oil companies and gasoline marketers; essential ingredient feed products to dairies and feedlots; and corn oil to poultry, renewable diesel, and biodiesel customers. It operates alcohol production facilities. The company was formerly known as Pacific Ethanol, Inc. and changed its name to Alto Ingredients, Inc. in January 2021. Alto Ingredients, Inc. was founded in 2003 and is headquartered in Pekin, Illinois.

About Hengan International Group

Hengan International Group Company Limited, an investment holding company, manufactures, distributes, and sells personal hygiene products in the People's Republic of China and internationally. The company offers pocket handkerchiefs, box and soft tissue papers, kitchen towels/papers, toilet rolls, first-aid products, enema, garbage and food bags, preservation papers, table cloths and disposable toilet brush, sanitary napkins, pantiliners, overnight pants, wet tissues, maternal and child care products, adult and baby diapers, and cleansing products. It is also involved in the trading of various products for ladies, pregnant women, infants, and kids, as well as disposable fiber-based products; and engages in the ecommerce business. In addition, the company manufactures and distributes heat and power; and manufactures, distributes, and sells gas, protective equipment, medical instrument, skin care products, antiseptics, and household products. Hengan International Group Company Limited was founded in 1985 and is headquartered in Jinjiang, the People's Republic of China.