Comparing American Biltrite (OTCMKTS:ABLT) and Aspen Aerogels (NYSE:ASPN)

American Biltrite (OTCMKTS:ABLT) and Aspen Aerogels (NYSE:ASPN) are both small-cap construction companies, but which is the superior business? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their analyst recommendations, earnings, institutional ownership, valuation, dividends, risk and profitability.

Institutional and Insider Ownership

97.6% of Aspen Aerogels shares are held by institutional investors. 4.3% of Aspen Aerogels shares are held by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, endowments and hedge funds believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Volatility & Risk

American Biltrite has a beta of -0.39, suggesting that its stock price is 139% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Aspen Aerogels has a beta of 2.99, suggesting that its stock price is 199% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a breakdown of current recommendations for American Biltrite and Aspen Aerogels, as provided by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
American Biltrite	0	0	0	0	0.00
Aspen Aerogels	2	2	3	0	2.14

Aspen Aerogels has a consensus price target of $4.25, suggesting a potential upside of 28.79%. Given Aspen Aerogels’ stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, analysts clearly believe Aspen Aerogels is more favorable than American Biltrite.

Valuation and Earnings

This table compares American Biltrite and Aspen Aerogels”s gross revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
American Biltrite	$188.74 million	0.02	-$2.64 million	($229.80)	-0.44
Aspen Aerogels	$271.10 million	1.01	-$389.55 million	($4.74)	-0.70

American Biltrite has higher earnings, but lower revenue than Aspen Aerogels. Aspen Aerogels is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than American Biltrite, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Profitability

This table compares American Biltrite and Aspen Aerogels’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
American Biltrite	-4.16%	-34.23%	-6.13%
Aspen Aerogels	-143.69%	-13.07%	-7.73%

Summary

Aspen Aerogels beats American Biltrite on 10 of the 14 factors compared between the two stocks.

About American Biltrite

American Biltrite Inc., together with its subsidiaries, provides tape, jewelry, flooring, and rubber products worldwide. The company produces and offers pressure sensitive tapes, films, and protective sheeting under the American Biltrite and Ideal brands, which are used in various markets, such as automotive and transportation; construction; shoe/footwear; graphic arts, print, and signage; and various other industrial and consumer applications. It also manufactures and distributes commercial flooring primarily for healthcare, educational, and institutional sectors; and performance sheet rubber in North America, as well as designs and supplies fashion jewelry to department stores under the brands of Guess, T Tahari, Robert Rose, Berry, and Jessica McClintock. The company sells its tape products through sales organizations, distributors, and select manufacturers’ representatives. American Biltrite Inc. was founded in 1908 and is based in Wellesley Hills, Massachusetts.

About Aspen Aerogels

Aspen Aerogels, Inc. designs, develops, manufactures, and sells aerogel insulation products primarily for use in the energy infrastructure and sustainable insulation materials markets in the United States, Asia, Canada, Europe, and Latin America. It operates in two segments, Energy Industrial and Thermal Barrier. The company offers PyroThin thermal barriers for use in lithium-ion batteries in electric vehicles and energy storage industries; Pyrogel XTE that reduces the risk of corrosion under insulation in energy infrastructure operating systems; and Pyrogel HPS for applications within the power generation market. It also offers Pyrogel XTF to provide protection against fire; Cryogel Z for sub-ambient and cryogenic applications in the energy infrastructure market; Spaceloft Subsea for use in pipe-in-pipe applications in offshore oil production; and Cryogel X201, which is used in designing cold systems, such as refrigerated appliances, cold storage equipment, and aerospace systems. The company was founded in 2001 and is headquartered in Northborough, Massachusetts.