Comparing Mativ (NYSE:MATV) and DAQO New Energy (NYSE:DQ)

DAQO New Energy (NYSE:DQ) and Mativ (NYSE:MATV) are both small-cap basic materials companies, but which is the superior stock? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their institutional ownership, profitability, dividends, valuation, earnings, risk and analyst recommendations.

Earnings and Valuation

This table compares DAQO New Energy and Mativ”s revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
DAQO New Energy	$665.41 million	2.36	-$170.51 million	($2.54)	-9.23
Mativ	$1.99 billion	0.24	-$337.40 million	($6.26)	-1.38

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

Insider and Institutional Ownership

47.2% of DAQO New Energy shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 95.0% of Mativ shares are owned by institutional investors. 24.3% of DAQO New Energy shares are owned by insiders. Comparatively, 1.0% of Mativ shares are owned by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, endowments and hedge funds believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a breakdown of current recommendations for DAQO New Energy and Mativ, as provided by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
DAQO New Energy	2	2	1	1	2.17
Mativ	1	1	1	0	2.00

DAQO New Energy currently has a consensus price target of $25.43, suggesting a potential upside of 8.47%. Mativ has a consensus price target of $10.00, suggesting a potential upside of 15.63%. Given Mativ’s higher probable upside, analysts plainly believe Mativ is more favorable than DAQO New Energy.

Risk & Volatility

DAQO New Energy has a beta of 0.68, suggesting that its share price is 32% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Mativ has a beta of 0.8, suggesting that its share price is 20% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Profitability

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

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
DAQO New Energy	-25.62%	-2.92%	-2.69%
Mativ	-16.98%	9.79%	2.08%

Summary

Mativ beats DAQO New Energy on 8 of the 14 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 Mativ

Mativ Holdings, Inc., together with its subsidiaries, manufactures and sells specialty materials in the United States, Europe, the Asia Pacific, the Americas, and internationally. The company operates through two segments, Advanced Technical Materials and Fiber-Based Solutions. The Advanced Technical Materials manufactures and sells various engineered polymer, resin and fiber-based substrates, nets, films, adhesive tapes, and other nonwovens for the filtration, protective solutions, release liners, and healthcare end-markets. This segment sells its products directly, as well as through sales agents and distributors. The Fiber-Based Solutions segment produces packaging and specialty paper products. This segment provides premium packaging products that are used for wine, spirits and beer labels, folding cartons, box wrap, bags, hang tags, and stored value cards servicing retail, cosmetics, spirits, and electronics end-use markets; and premium papers, which are used in commercial printing services, advertising collateral, stationery, corporate identity packages and brochures, direct mail, business cards, and other uses. It also offers branded paper-based products for the consumer channel, such as bright papers, cardstock, stationery paper, envelopes, journals, and planners. This segment distributes its products through authorized paper distributors, converters, retailers, and specialty business converters, as well as directly to end-users. The company was formerly known as Schweitzer-Mauduit International, Inc. and changed its name to Mativ Holdings, Inc. in July 2022. Mativ Holdings, Inc. was incorporated in 1995 and is headquartered in Alpharetta, Georgia.