Element Solutions (NYSE:ESI) versus Ecovyst (NYSE:ECVT) Head to Head Comparison

Ecovyst (NYSE:ECVT) and Element Solutions (NYSE:ESI) are both basic materials companies, but which is the better stock? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their institutional ownership, profitability, dividends, valuation, analyst recommendations, risk and earnings.

Insider & Institutional Ownership

86.7% of Ecovyst shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 92.3% of Element Solutions shares are owned by institutional investors. 1.5% of Ecovyst shares are owned by company insiders. Comparatively, 6.9% of Element Solutions shares are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, hedge funds and large money managers believe a stock will outperform the market over the long term.

Risk & Volatility

Ecovyst has a beta of 1.2, indicating that its share price is 20% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Element Solutions has a beta of 1.28, indicating that its share price is 28% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Analyst Ratings

This is a breakdown of current recommendations and price targets for Ecovyst and Element Solutions, as provided by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Ecovyst	1	1	4	0	2.50
Element Solutions	0	3	6	2	2.91

Ecovyst presently has a consensus target price of $12.00, indicating a potential upside of 11.54%. Element Solutions has a consensus target price of $31.50, indicating a potential upside of 12.54%. Given Element Solutions’ stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, analysts plainly believe Element Solutions is more favorable than Ecovyst.

Profitability

This table compares Ecovyst and Element Solutions’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Ecovyst	-14.34%	8.93%	3.38%
Element Solutions	9.58%	14.01%	7.28%

Valuation and Earnings

This table compares Ecovyst and Element Solutions”s top-line revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Ecovyst	$704.50 million	1.74	-$6.65 million	($0.93)	-11.57
Element Solutions	$2.50 billion	2.71	$244.20 million	$0.99	28.27

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

Summary

Element Solutions beats Ecovyst on 15 of the 15 factors compared between the two stocks.

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.

About Element Solutions

Element Solutions Inc operates as a specialty chemicals company in the United States, China, and internationally. The company operates in two segments, Electronics, and Industrial & Specialty. The Electronics segment researches, formulates, and sells specialty chemicals and materials for various types of electronics hardware products. This segment also supplies surface mount technologies, fluxes, thermal management material, coatings, and other attachment materials; chemical formulations to the electronics industry; and advanced copper interconnects, die attachment, sintered silver material, adhesives, wafer bump processes, and photomask technologies for semiconductor industry. It primarily serves mobile communications, computers, automobiles, and aerospace equipment industries. The Industrial & Specialty segment provides industrial solutions, which include chemical systems that protect and decorate metal and plastic surfaces; consumable chemicals that enable printing image transfer on flexible packaging materials; and chemistries used in water-based hydraulic control fluids for offshore energy production applications. It serves aerospace, automotive, construction, consumer electronics, consumer packaged goods, and oil and gas production end markets. The company was formerly known as Platform Specialty Products Corporation and changed its name to Element Solutions Inc in January 2019. Element Solutions Inc was founded in 1785 and is headquartered in Fort Lauderdale, Florida.