Comparing Ingevity (NYSE:NGVT) & Loop Industries (NASDAQ:LOOP)

Loop Industries (NASDAQ:LOOP) and Ingevity (NYSE:NGVT) are both materials companies, but which is the better stock? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their institutional ownership, analyst recommendations, profitability, risk, dividends, earnings and valuation.

Profitability

This table compares Loop Industries and Ingevity’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Loop Industries	-2,154.12%	N/A	-146.03%
Ingevity	5.28%	405.38%	11.41%

Volatility and Risk

Loop Industries has a beta of 1.54, suggesting that its share price is 54% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Ingevity has a beta of 1.12, suggesting that its share price is 12% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Earnings & Valuation

This table compares Loop Industries and Ingevity”s top-line revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Loop Industries	$510,000.00	21.06	-$12.30 million	($0.25)	-0.88
Ingevity	$1.17 billion	1.79	-$167.10 million	$1.70	36.39

Loop Industries has higher earnings, but lower revenue than Ingevity. Loop Industries is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Ingevity, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Institutional and Insider Ownership

4.9% of Loop Industries shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 91.6% of Ingevity shares are owned by institutional investors. 49.7% of Loop Industries shares are owned by company insiders. Comparatively, 0.9% of Ingevity shares are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, hedge funds and endowments believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a summary of recent ratings and target prices for Loop Industries and Ingevity, as reported by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Loop Industries	0	1	0	0	2.00
Ingevity	0	3	2	0	2.40

Ingevity has a consensus target price of $80.00, suggesting a potential upside of 29.33%. Given Ingevity’s stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, analysts plainly believe Ingevity is more favorable than Loop Industries.

Summary

Ingevity beats Loop Industries on 9 of the 13 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Loop Industries

Loop Industries, Inc. is a Montreal, Quebec-based technology company focused on advancing the circular economy for plastics. The company has developed a patented technology designed to break down waste polyethylene terephthalate (PET) and polyester fiber into their basic building-block chemicals, which can then be used to manufacture new PET plastic and polyester products. Loop’s process is intended to handle PET waste that may be difficult to recycle through conventional mechanical methods, including materials that are colored, contaminated, or otherwise unsuitable for traditional recycling.

About Ingevity

Ingevity is a specialty chemicals and materials company headquartered in North Charleston, South Carolina. It develops and manufactures high-performance activated carbon and specialty chemical products for industrial and consumer applications. Its activated carbon products are used in vehicle fuel-vapor emission control and other applications. The company also makes specialty chemicals and polymer materials used in areas such as pavement technologies, coatings, adhesives and elastomers. Ingevity serves customers in markets around the world.