Comparing Alto Ingredients (NASDAQ:ALTO) and Ceconomy (OTCMKTS:MTTRY)

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

Valuation & Earnings

This table compares Ceconomy and Alto Ingredients”s top-line revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Ceconomy	$25.51 billion	0.10	-$38.73 million	$0.08	13.68
Alto Ingredients	$965.26 million	0.21	-$58.98 million	($0.69)	-3.77

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

Profitability

This table compares Ceconomy and Alto Ingredients’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Ceconomy	0.71%	46.82%	2.53%
Alto Ingredients	-5.44%	-12.02%	-6.59%

Analyst Recommendations

This is a summary of recent ratings for Ceconomy and Alto Ingredients, as provided by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Ceconomy	0	0	0	1	4.00
Alto Ingredients	1	1	1	0	2.00

Alto Ingredients has a consensus target price of $5.50, suggesting a potential upside of 111.54%. Given Alto Ingredients’ higher possible upside, analysts clearly believe Alto Ingredients is more favorable than Ceconomy.

Insider & Institutional Ownership

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

Risk & Volatility

Ceconomy has a beta of 1.3, suggesting that its share price is 30% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Alto Ingredients has a beta of 0.6, suggesting that its share price is 40% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Summary

Ceconomy beats Alto Ingredients on 10 of the 15 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Ceconomy

Ceconomy AG, together with its subsidiaries, engages in the consumer electronics retail business. It operates stores under the MediaMarkt and Saturn brands. The company offers professional assistance for the installation, connection, and troubleshooting of electronic devices at home under the Deutsche Technikberatung brand. It operates in Germany, Austria, Switzerland, and Hungary, as well as in Western, Southern, and Eastern Europe. Ceconomy AG is based in Düsseldorf, Germany.

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.