DAQO New Energy (NYSE:DQ) versus Green Plains (NASDAQ:GPRE) Head to Head Survey

DAQO New Energy (NYSE:DQ) and Green Plains (NASDAQ:GPRE) are both basic materials companies, but which is the superior investment? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their analyst recommendations, profitability, risk, institutional ownership, dividends, valuation and earnings.

Valuation & Earnings

This table compares DAQO New Energy and Green Plains”s top-line revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
DAQO New Energy	$1.03 billion	2.14	-$345.21 million	($5.14)	-6.39
Green Plains	$2.46 billion	0.27	-$82.50 million	($2.40)	-4.28

Green Plains has higher revenue and earnings than DAQO New Energy. DAQO New Energy is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Green Plains, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Risk & Volatility

DAQO New Energy has a beta of 0.6, indicating that its share price is 40% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Green Plains has a beta of 1.26, indicating that its share price is 26% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a breakdown of current ratings and price targets for DAQO New Energy and Green Plains, as provided by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
DAQO New Energy	1	2	3	1	2.57
Green Plains	2	5	3	1	2.27

DAQO New Energy presently has a consensus target price of $27.04, suggesting a potential downside of 17.67%. Green Plains has a consensus target price of $10.00, suggesting a potential downside of 2.72%. Given Green Plains’ higher probable upside, analysts clearly believe Green Plains is more favorable than DAQO New Energy.

Profitability

This table compares DAQO New Energy and Green Plains’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
DAQO New Energy	-53.74%	-5.89%	-5.42%
Green Plains	-6.34%	-13.65%	-6.72%

Insider & Institutional Ownership

47.2% of DAQO New Energy shares are owned by institutional investors. 24.3% of DAQO New Energy shares are owned by insiders. Comparatively, 1.0% of Green Plains shares are owned by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, large money managers and hedge funds believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.

Summary

Green Plains beats DAQO New Energy on 7 of the 13 factors compared between the two stocks.

About DAQO New Energy

Daqo New Energy Corp., together with its subsidiaries, manufactures and sells polysilicon to photovoltaic product manufacturers in the People's Republic of China. Its products are used in ingots, wafers, cells, and modules for solar power solutions. The company was formerly known as Mega Stand International Limited and changed its name to Daqo New Energy Corp. in August 2009. Daqo New Energy Corp. was founded in 2006 and is based in Shanghai, the People's Republic of China.

About Green Plains

Green Plains Inc. produces low-carbon fuels in the United States and internationally. It operates through three segments: Ethanol Production, Agribusiness and Energy Services, and Partnership. The Ethanol Production segment produces ethanol, distillers grains, and ultra-high protein and renewable corn oil. The Agribusiness and Energy Services segment engages in the grain procurement, handling and storage, commodity marketing business; and trading of ethanol, distiller grains, renewable corn oil, grain, natural gas, and other commodities in various markets. This segment also provides grain drying and storage services to grain producers. The Partnership segment offers fuel storage and transportation services. It operates 24 ethanol storage facilities; two fuel terminal facilities; and a fleet of approximately 2,180 leased railcars. The company was formerly known as Green Plains Renewable Energy, Inc. and changed its name to Green Plains Inc. in May 2014. Green Plains Inc. was incorporated in 2004 and is headquartered in Omaha, Nebraska.