Comparing Westaim (OTCMKTS:WEDXF) and NewMarket (NYSE:NEU)

Westaim (OTCMKTS:WEDXF) and NewMarket (NYSE:NEU) are both basic materials companies, but which is the better investment? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their analyst recommendations, institutional ownership, earnings, dividends, profitability, valuation and risk.

Risk & Volatility

Westaim has a beta of 0.21, meaning that its stock price is 79% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, NewMarket has a beta of 0.48, meaning that its stock price is 52% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a summary of current ratings and price targets for Westaim and NewMarket, as reported by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Westaim	0	0	0	0	0.00
NewMarket	0	1	0	0	2.00

Valuation and Earnings

This table compares Westaim and NewMarket”s top-line revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Westaim	$53.37 million	11.05	-$38.00 million	($1.26)	-14.02
NewMarket	$2.73 billion	2.26	$418.75 million	$44.42	14.72

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

Insider and Institutional Ownership

61.1% of NewMarket shares are owned by institutional investors. 4.2% of Westaim shares are owned by insiders. Comparatively, 8.6% of NewMarket shares are owned by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, endowments and hedge funds believe a stock will outperform the market over the long term.

Profitability

This table compares Westaim and NewMarket’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Westaim	-77.37%	-6.15%	-5.25%
NewMarket	15.37%	25.38%	12.73%

Summary

NewMarket beats Westaim on 11 of the 12 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Westaim

The Westaim Corporation is a private equity firm specializing in direct and indirect investments through acquisitions, joint ventures, secondary investments both direct and indirect, fund of fund investments, and other arrangements. For direct investments, the firm invests in early venture, mid venture, late venture, middle market, later stage, mature, emerging growth, PIPEs, and buyout transactions. For fund of fund investments, it seeks to invest in private equity funds, venture capital funds, and hedge funds. The firm seeks to provide long term capital to businesses operating in the global financial services industry. It typically acquires controlling interests in businesses. The firm seeks to acquire debt, equity, or derivative securities of both public and private companies. It invests with the objective of providing its shareholders with capital appreciation and real wealth preservation. The firm seeks to provide its portfolio companies with advisory services including, but not limited to, advice on capital allocation, financing strategy, performance measurement and merger and acquisition support. It also seeks to partner with like-minded providers of third party capital to help supplement the firm's own capital, when completing acquisitions. The firm generally seeks to hold its investments for seven to 15 years. The Westaim Corporation was founded in 1996 and is based in Toronto, Canada.

About NewMarket

NewMarket Corporation, through its subsidiaries, primarily engages in the manufacture and sale of petroleum additives. The company offers lubricant additives for use in various vehicle and industrial applications, including engine oils, transmission fluids, off-road powertrain and hydraulic systems, gear oils, hydraulic oils, turbine oils, and other applications where metal-to-metal moving parts are utilized; engine oil additives designed for passenger cars, motorcycles, on and off-road heavy duty commercial equipment, locomotives, and engines in ocean-going vessels; driveline additives designed for products, such as transmission fluids, axle fluids, and off-road powertrain fluids; and industrial additives designed for products for industrial applications consisting of hydraulic fluids, grease, industrial gear fluids, and industrial specialty applications, such as turbine oils. It also provides fuel additives that are used to enhance the oil refining process and the performance of gasoline, diesel, biofuels, and other fuels to industry, government, original equipment manufacturers, and individual customers. In addition, the company engages in the marketing of antiknock compounds, as well as contracted manufacturing and services activities; and owns and manages a real property in Virginia. It operates in North America, Latin America, Asia Pacific, Europe, the Middle East, Africa, and India. NewMarket Corporation was founded in 1887 and is headquartered in Richmond, Virginia.