Financial Contrast: Montrose Environmental Group (NYSE:ONT) & Aqua Metals (NASDAQ:AQMS)

Montrose Environmental Group (NYSE:ONT) and Aqua Metals (NASDAQ:AQMS) are both small-cap business services companies, but which is the superior investment? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their profitability, institutional ownership, valuation, earnings, dividends, risk and analyst recommendations.

Earnings and Valuation

This table compares Montrose Environmental Group and Aqua Metals”s top-line revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Montrose Environmental Group	$830.54 million	0.66	-$840,000.00	$0.05	303.60
Aqua Metals	$30,000.00	460.07	-$22.65 million	($30.53)	-0.13

Montrose Environmental Group has higher revenue and earnings than Aqua Metals. Aqua Metals is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Montrose Environmental Group, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Profitability

This table compares Montrose Environmental Group and Aqua Metals’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Montrose Environmental Group	0.71%	5.61%	2.61%
Aqua Metals	N/A	-207.71%	-139.04%

Insider & Institutional Ownership

87.9% of Montrose Environmental Group shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 22.0% of Aqua Metals shares are owned by institutional investors. 10.4% of Montrose Environmental Group shares are owned by company insiders. Comparatively, 8.3% of Aqua Metals shares are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, large money managers and endowments believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.

Volatility and Risk

Montrose Environmental Group has a beta of 1.83, indicating that its stock price is 83% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Aqua Metals has a beta of 0.3, indicating that its stock price is 70% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a breakdown of recent ratings and recommmendations for Montrose Environmental Group and Aqua Metals, as reported by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Montrose Environmental Group	2	1	2	0	2.00
Aqua Metals	1	0	0	0	1.00

Montrose Environmental Group currently has a consensus price target of $32.33, suggesting a potential upside of 113.00%. Given Montrose Environmental Group’s stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, research analysts plainly believe Montrose Environmental Group is more favorable than Aqua Metals.

Summary

Montrose Environmental Group beats Aqua Metals on 13 of the 14 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Montrose Environmental Group

Montrose Environmental Group, Inc. operates as an environmental services company in the United States, Canada, and internationally. The company operates in three segments: Assessment, Permitting and Response; Measurement and Analysis; and Remediation and Reuse. The Assessment, Permitting and Response segment provides scientific advisory and consulting services to support environmental assessments; environmental emergency response and recovery; toxicology consulting and environmental audits and permits for current operations; facility upgrades; new projects; decommissioning projects; and development projects. This segment also offers technical advisory and consulting services, including regulatory compliance support and planning, environmental, ecosystem and toxicological assessments, and support during responses to environmental disruptions. The Measurement and Analysis segment tests and analyzes air, water, and soil to determine concentrations of contaminants, as well as the toxicological impact of contaminants on flora, fauna, and human health. Its services include source and ambient air testing and monitoring, leak detection, and advanced analytical laboratory services, such as storm water, wastewater, and drinking water analysis. The Remediation and Reuse segment provides engineering, design, implementation, and operations and maintenance services primarily to treat contaminated water, remove contaminants from soil, or create biogas from waste. The company serves financial, oil and gas, utilities, construction, automotive, real-estate, midstream energy, manufacturing, commodities, petrochemical, food and beverage, telecommunications, and engineering industries, as well as local, state, provincial, and federal government entities. Montrose Environmental Group, Inc. was founded in 2012 and is headquartered in North Little Rock, Arkansas.

About Aqua Metals

Aqua Metals, Inc. engages in reinventing metals recycling activities with its patented AquaRefining technology. The company's technology produces metals and alloys that can be returned into the battery manufacturing supply chain markets, as well as sells metals for use in various advanced manufacturing industries. Its AquaRefining, a low-emissions and recycling technology that replaces polluting furnaces and hazardous chemicals with electricity-powered electroplating to recover valuable metals and materials from spent batteries. Aqua Metals, Inc. was incorporated in 2014 and is headquartered in Reno, Nevada.