American Vanguard (NYSE:AVD) versus Elementis (OTCMKTS:ELMTY) Financial Comparison

American Vanguard (NYSE:AVD) and Elementis (OTCMKTS:ELMTY) are both small-cap basic materials companies, but which is the superior investment? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their earnings, profitability, analyst recommendations, dividends, institutional ownership, valuation and risk.

Volatility and Risk

American Vanguard has a beta of 1.48, indicating that its share price is 48% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Elementis has a beta of 0.11, indicating that its share price is 89% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Analyst Ratings

This is a breakdown of recent ratings and price targets for American Vanguard and Elementis, as reported by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
American Vanguard	1	0	1	0	2.00
Elementis	0	0	0	0	0.00

American Vanguard presently has a consensus target price of $12.00, indicating a potential upside of 313.79%. Given American Vanguard’s stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, equities research analysts clearly believe American Vanguard is more favorable than Elementis.

Institutional and Insider Ownership

79.0% of American Vanguard shares are held by institutional investors. 7.6% of American Vanguard shares are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, hedge funds and large money managers believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Earnings & Valuation

This table compares American Vanguard and Elementis”s gross revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
American Vanguard	$515.11 million	0.19	-$49.88 million	($1.75)	-1.66
Elementis	$597.50 million	1.93	-$45.50 million	N/A	N/A

Elementis has higher revenue and earnings than American Vanguard.

Profitability

This table compares American Vanguard and Elementis’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
American Vanguard	-9.68%	-5.13%	-1.76%
Elementis	N/A	N/A	N/A

About American Vanguard

American Vanguard Corporation, through its subsidiaries, develops, manufactures, and markets specialty chemicals for agricultural, commercial, and consumer uses in the United States and internationally. It manufactures and formulates chemicals, including insecticides, fungicides, herbicides, soil health, plant nutrition, molluscicides, growth regulators, soil fumigants, and biorationals in liquid, powder, and granular forms for crops, turf and ornamental plants, and human and animal health protection. The company also markets, sells, and distributes end-use chemical and biological products for crop applications; and distributes chemicals for turf and ornamental markets. It distributes its products through national distribution companies, and buying groups or co-operatives; and through sales offices, sales force executives, sales agents, and wholly owned distributors. American Vanguard Corporation was incorporated in 1969 and is headquartered in Newport Beach, California.

About Elementis

Elementis plc operates as a specialty chemical company in the United Kingdom, rest of Europe, North America, and internationally. It operates in two segments, Performance Specialties and Personal Care. The Performance Specialties segment engages in the production of rheological modifiers and additives for decorative and industrial coatings; and production and supply of talc for use in plastics, coatings, technical ceramics, and paper sectors. The Personal Care segment provides rheological modifiers and compounded products, including active ingredients for antiperspirants (AP) deodorants for personal care manufacturers. The company offers personal care products for antiperspirants, color cosmetics, and skin care applications; and performance specialties products for architectural coatings, adhesives, sealants and construction additives, and talc applications. Elementis plc was founded in 1844 and is headquartered in London, the United Kingdom.