AdvanSix (NYSE:ASIX – Get Free Report) and Ecovyst (NYSE:ECVT – Get Free Report) are both small-cap basic materials companies, but which is the better investment? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their dividends, risk, analyst recommendations, profitability, institutional ownership, valuation and earnings.
Analyst Ratings
This is a breakdown of current ratings and target prices for AdvanSix and Ecovyst, as provided by MarketBeat.com.
| Sell Ratings | Hold Ratings | Buy Ratings | Strong Buy Ratings | Rating Score | |
| AdvanSix | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2.00 |
| Ecovyst | 1 | 1 | 4 | 0 | 2.50 |
AdvanSix presently has a consensus target price of $33.50, indicating a potential upside of 94.77%. Ecovyst has a consensus target price of $11.60, indicating a potential upside of 16.63%. Given AdvanSix’s higher possible upside, equities research analysts clearly believe AdvanSix is more favorable than Ecovyst.
Earnings and Valuation
| Gross Revenue | Price/Sales Ratio | Net Income | Earnings Per Share | Price/Earnings Ratio | |
| AdvanSix | $1.52 billion | 0.30 | $44.15 million | $1.92 | 8.96 |
| Ecovyst | $704.50 million | 1.61 | -$6.65 million | ($0.93) | -10.69 |
AdvanSix has higher revenue and earnings than Ecovyst. Ecovyst is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than AdvanSix, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.
Profitability
This table compares AdvanSix and Ecovyst’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.
| Net Margins | Return on Equity | Return on Assets | |
| AdvanSix | 3.52% | 7.14% | 3.50% |
| Ecovyst | -14.34% | 8.93% | 3.38% |
Insider & Institutional Ownership
86.4% of AdvanSix shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 86.7% of Ecovyst shares are owned by institutional investors. 5.6% of AdvanSix shares are owned by insiders. Comparatively, 1.5% of Ecovyst shares are owned by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, hedge funds and endowments believe a company will outperform the market over the long term.
Volatility and Risk
AdvanSix has a beta of 1.74, suggesting that its stock price is 74% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Ecovyst has a beta of 1.25, suggesting that its stock price is 25% more volatile than the S&P 500.
Summary
AdvanSix beats Ecovyst on 9 of the 14 factors compared between the two stocks.
About AdvanSix
AdvanSix Inc. engages in the manufacture and sale of polymer resins in the United States and internationally. It offers Nylon 6, a polymer resin, which is a synthetic material used to produce fibers, filaments, engineered plastics, and films. The company also provides caprolactam to manufacture polymer resins; ammonium sulfate fertilizers to distributors, farm cooperatives, and retailers; and acetone that are used in the production of adhesives, paints, coatings, solvents, herbicides, and engineered plastic resins, as well as other intermediate chemicals, including phenol, monoisopropylamine, dipropylamine, monoallylamine, alpha-methylstyrene, cyclohexanone, methyl ethyl ketoxime, acetaldehyde oxime, 2-pentanone oxime, cyclohexanol, sulfuric acid, ammonia, and carbon dioxide. It offers its products under the Aegis, Capran, Sulf-N, Nadone, Naxol, and EZ-Blox brands. The company sells its products directly, as well as through distributors. AdvanSix Inc. was incorporated in 2016 and is headquartered in Parsippany, New Jersey.
About Ecovyst
Ecovyst Inc. offers specialty catalysts and services in the United States and internationally. The company operates in two segments, Ecoservices and Advanced Materials & Catalysts. The Ecoservices segment provides sulfuric acid recycling services and end-to-end logistics for production of alkylate for refineries; and virgin sulfuric acid for mining, water treatment, and industrial applications. The Advanced Materials & Catalysts segment offers advanced materials and specialty catalyst products and process solutions to producers and licensors of polyethylene and advanced silicas. This segment also supplies specialty zeolites and zeolite-based catalysts to customers for refining of oil primarily hydrocracking catalyst and dewaxing, sustainable fuels, and emission control systems for both on-road and non-road diesel engines. The company was formerly known as PQ Group Holdings Inc. and changed its name to Ecovyst Inc. in August 2021. Ecovyst Inc. was founded in 1831 and is headquartered in Malvern, Pennsylvania.
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