Contrasting Mativ (NYSE:MATV) & DAQO New Energy (NYSE:DQ)

DAQO New Energy (NYSE:DQ) and Mativ (NYSE:MATV) are both small-cap basic materials companies, but which is the better investment? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their analyst recommendations, earnings, risk, dividends, profitability, institutional ownership and valuation.

Volatility and Risk

DAQO New Energy has a beta of 0.68, suggesting that its stock price is 32% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Mativ has a beta of 0.8, suggesting that its stock price is 20% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Institutional & Insider Ownership

47.2% of DAQO New Energy shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 95.0% of Mativ shares are held by institutional investors. 24.3% of DAQO New Energy shares are held by insiders. Comparatively, 1.0% of Mativ shares are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, large money managers and hedge funds believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.

Profitability

This table compares DAQO New Energy and Mativ’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
DAQO New Energy	-25.62%	-2.92%	-2.69%
Mativ	-16.98%	9.79%	2.08%

Analyst Ratings

This is a summary of recent ratings and target prices for DAQO New Energy and Mativ, as reported by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
DAQO New Energy	2	2	1	1	2.17
Mativ	1	1	0	0	1.50

DAQO New Energy currently has a consensus target price of $25.43, indicating a potential upside of 19.38%. Given DAQO New Energy’s stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, research analysts clearly believe DAQO New Energy is more favorable than Mativ.

Valuation & Earnings

This table compares DAQO New Energy and Mativ”s revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
DAQO New Energy	$665.42 million	2.15	-$170.51 million	($2.54)	-8.39
Mativ	$1.99 billion	0.24	-$337.40 million	($6.26)	-1.38

DAQO New Energy has higher earnings, but lower revenue than Mativ. DAQO New Energy is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Mativ, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Summary

DAQO New Energy beats Mativ on 8 of the 15 factors compared between the two stocks.

About DAQO New Energy

Daqo New Energy Corp., together with its subsidiaries, manufactures and sells polysilicon to photovoltaic product manufacturers in the People's Republic of China. Its products are used in ingots, wafers, cells, and modules for solar power solutions. The company was formerly known as Mega Stand International Limited and changed its name to Daqo New Energy Corp. in August 2009. Daqo New Energy Corp. was founded in 2006 and is based in Shanghai, the People's Republic of China.

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.