Analyzing Ecovyst (NYSE:ECVT) and BioLargo (NASDAQ:BLGO)

BioLargo (NASDAQ:BLGO) and Ecovyst (NYSE:ECVT) are both small-cap construction companies, but which is the superior investment? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their earnings, risk, dividends, analyst recommendations, profitability, institutional ownership and valuation.

Institutional and Insider Ownership

0.0% of BioLargo shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 86.7% of Ecovyst shares are held by institutional investors. 20.3% of BioLargo shares are held by insiders. Comparatively, 1.6% of Ecovyst shares are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, endowments and large money managers believe a stock will outperform the market over the long term.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a breakdown of current ratings and target prices for BioLargo and Ecovyst, as reported by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
BioLargo	0	0	0	0	N/A
Ecovyst	0	0	3	0	3.00

Ecovyst has a consensus target price of $11.00, indicating a potential upside of 78.86%. Given Ecovyst’s higher possible upside, analysts clearly believe Ecovyst is more favorable than BioLargo.

Volatility & Risk

BioLargo has a beta of 0.18, meaning that its share price is 82% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Ecovyst has a beta of 1.01, meaning that its share price is 1% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Valuation & Earnings

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

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
BioLargo	$12.23 million	5.69	-$3.50 million	($0.03)	-7.81
Ecovyst	$689.49 million	1.04	$71.15 million	$0.63	9.76

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

Profitability

This table compares BioLargo and Ecovyst’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
BioLargo	-16.53%	-58.35%	-32.12%
Ecovyst	8.14%	7.88%	3.04%

Summary

Ecovyst beats BioLargo on 11 of the 13 factors compared between the two stocks.

About BioLargo

BioLargo, Inc. invents, develops, and commercializes various platform technologies. Its technologies solve challenging environmental problems comprising per – and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) water contamination, advanced water and wastewater treatment, industrial odor and volatile organic compounds control, air quality control, infection control, and myriad environmental remediation. The company provides full-service environmental engineering services. BioLargo, Inc. was incorporated in 1991 and is based in Westminster, California.

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.