Reviewing Hillman Solutions (NASDAQ:HLMN) and Ecosphere Technologies (OTCMKTS:ESPHQ)

Ecosphere Technologies (OTCMKTS:ESPHQ) and Hillman Solutions (NASDAQ:HLMN) are both industrials companies, but which is the superior stock? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their profitability, institutional ownership, earnings, risk, dividends, valuation and analyst recommendations.

Institutional & Insider Ownership

98.1% of Hillman Solutions shares are held by institutional investors. 18.4% of Ecosphere Technologies shares are held by insiders. Comparatively, 5.3% of Hillman Solutions shares are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, endowments and large money managers believe a company will outperform the market over the long term.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a summary of recent recommendations for Ecosphere Technologies and Hillman Solutions, as provided by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Ecosphere Technologies	0	0	0	0	0.00
Hillman Solutions	1	1	3	0	2.40

Hillman Solutions has a consensus price target of $12.50, indicating a potential upside of 50.06%. Given Hillman Solutions’ stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, analysts plainly believe Hillman Solutions is more favorable than Ecosphere Technologies.

Profitability

This table compares Ecosphere Technologies and Hillman Solutions’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Ecosphere Technologies	N/A	N/A	N/A
Hillman Solutions	2.57%	9.11%	4.70%

Earnings and Valuation

This table compares Ecosphere Technologies and Hillman Solutions”s gross revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Ecosphere Technologies	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A
Hillman Solutions	$1.55 billion	1.04	$40.31 million	$0.22	37.86

Hillman Solutions has higher revenue and earnings than Ecosphere Technologies.

Summary

Hillman Solutions beats Ecosphere Technologies on 8 of the 9 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Ecosphere Technologies

Ecosphere Technologies, Inc., a technology development and intellectual property licensing company, develops environmental solutions for the water, agriculture, energy, and industrial markets worldwide. The company offers Ozonix water treatment technology, an advanced oxidation process that is designed to treat and recycle industrial wastewater without the use of toxic chemicals. Its Ozonix water treatment technology is used in oil and natural gas, mining, agriculture, energy, food and beverage, industrial, and marine, as well as for municipal wastewater treatment applications. The company also provides Ecos PowerCube, a mobile and solar powered generator, which increases the total amount of solar power generation that is used in various markets, including off-grid agricultural, military, emergency/disaster relief, and humanitarian and wireless communication efforts for remote applications. In addition, it offers Ecos GrowCube, a fully-automated hydroponic growing system, which increases the crop production. Ecosphere Technologies, Inc. was founded in 1998 and is headquartered in Stuart, Florida. On December 5, 2019, the voluntary petition of Ecosphere Technologies, Inc. for reorganization under Chapter 11 was converted to Chapter 7. It had filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy on December 21, 2018.

About Hillman Solutions

Founded in 1964 and headquartered in Cincinnati, Ohio, Hillman is a leading North American provider of complete hardware solutions, delivered with industry best customer service to over 40,000 locations. Hillman designs innovative product and merchandising solutions for complex categories that deliver an outstanding customer experience to home improvement centers, mass merchants, national and regional hardware stores, pet supply stores, and OEM & Industrial customers. Leveraging a world-class distribution and sales network, Hillman delivers a “small business” experience with “big business” efficiency.