Mativ (NYSE:MATV – Get Free Report) and AdvanSix (NYSE:ASIX – Get Free Report) 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 analyst recommendations, dividends, earnings, profitability, valuation, institutional ownership and risk.
Volatility & Risk
Mativ has a beta of 0.83, meaning that its share price is 17% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, AdvanSix has a beta of 1.71, meaning that its share price is 71% more volatile than the S&P 500.
Institutional and Insider Ownership
95.0% of Mativ shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 86.4% of AdvanSix shares are held by institutional investors. 2.0% of Mativ shares are held by insiders. Comparatively, 5.6% of AdvanSix shares are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, hedge funds and endowments believe a company is poised for long-term growth.
Analyst Recommendations
| Sell Ratings | Hold Ratings | Buy Ratings | Strong Buy Ratings | Rating Score | |
| Mativ | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2.00 |
| AdvanSix | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2.00 |
Mativ presently has a consensus target price of $10.00, suggesting a potential downside of 21.47%. AdvanSix has a consensus target price of $28.67, suggesting a potential upside of 68.07%. Given AdvanSix’s higher possible upside, analysts plainly believe AdvanSix is more favorable than Mativ.
Dividends
Mativ pays an annual dividend of $0.40 per share and has a dividend yield of 3.1%. AdvanSix pays an annual dividend of $0.64 per share and has a dividend yield of 3.8%. Mativ pays out -5.0% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. AdvanSix pays out 33.3% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Both companies have healthy payout ratios and should be able to cover their dividend payments with earnings for the next several years. Mativ has raised its dividend for 1 consecutive years and AdvanSix has raised its dividend for 2 consecutive years. AdvanSix is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and longer track record of dividend growth.
Valuation and Earnings
This table compares Mativ and AdvanSix”s top-line revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.
| Gross Revenue | Price/Sales Ratio | Net Income | Earnings Per Share | Price/Earnings Ratio | |
| Mativ | $1.98 billion | 0.35 | -$48.70 million | ($8.03) | -1.59 |
| AdvanSix | $1.49 billion | 0.31 | $44.15 million | $1.92 | 8.88 |
AdvanSix has lower revenue, but higher earnings than Mativ. Mativ is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than AdvanSix, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.
Profitability
This table compares Mativ and AdvanSix’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.
| Net Margins | Return on Equity | Return on Assets | |
| Mativ | -22.03% | 7.06% | 1.73% |
| AdvanSix | 3.52% | 7.14% | 3.50% |
Summary
AdvanSix beats Mativ on 11 of the 15 factors compared between the two stocks.
About Mativ
Mativ Holdings, Inc., together with its subsidiaries, manufactures and sells specialty materials in the United States, Europe, the Asia Pacific, the Americas, and internationally. The company operates through two segments, Advanced Technical Materials and Fiber-Based Solutions. The Advanced Technical Materials manufactures and sells various engineered polymer, resin and fiber-based substrates, nets, films, adhesive tapes, and other nonwovens for the filtration, protective solutions, release liners, and healthcare end-markets. This segment sells its products directly, as well as through sales agents and distributors. The Fiber-Based Solutions segment produces packaging and specialty paper products. This segment provides premium packaging products that are used for wine, spirits and beer labels, folding cartons, box wrap, bags, hang tags, and stored value cards servicing retail, cosmetics, spirits, and electronics end-use markets; and premium papers, which are used in commercial printing services, advertising collateral, stationery, corporate identity packages and brochures, direct mail, business cards, and other uses. It also offers branded paper-based products for the consumer channel, such as bright papers, cardstock, stationery paper, envelopes, journals, and planners. This segment distributes its products through authorized paper distributors, converters, retailers, and specialty business converters, as well as directly to end-users. The company was formerly known as Schweitzer-Mauduit International, Inc. and changed its name to Mativ Holdings, Inc. in July 2022. Mativ Holdings, Inc. was incorporated in 1995 and is headquartered in Alpharetta, Georgia.
About AdvanSix
AdvanSix Inc. engages in the manufacture and sale of polymer resins in the United States and internationally. It offers Nylon 6, a polymer resin, which is a synthetic material used to produce fibers, filaments, engineered plastics, and films. The company also provides caprolactam to manufacture polymer resins; ammonium sulfate fertilizers to distributors, farm cooperatives, and retailers; and acetone that are used in the production of adhesives, paints, coatings, solvents, herbicides, and engineered plastic resins, as well as other intermediate chemicals, including phenol, monoisopropylamine, dipropylamine, monoallylamine, alpha-methylstyrene, cyclohexanone, methyl ethyl ketoxime, acetaldehyde oxime, 2-pentanone oxime, cyclohexanol, sulfuric acid, ammonia, and carbon dioxide. It offers its products under the Aegis, Capran, Sulf-N, Nadone, Naxol, and EZ-Blox brands. The company sells its products directly, as well as through distributors. AdvanSix Inc. was incorporated in 2016 and is headquartered in Parsippany, New Jersey.
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