Financial Contrast: PureCycle Technologies (NASDAQ:PCT) vs. Zurn Elkay Water Solutions Cor (NYSE:ZWS)

PureCycle Technologies (NASDAQ:PCT) and Zurn Elkay Water Solutions Cor (NYSE:ZWS) are both mid-cap business services companies, but which is the superior business? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their valuation, dividends, institutional ownership, analyst recommendations, risk, profitability and earnings.

Profitability

This table compares PureCycle Technologies and Zurn Elkay Water Solutions Cor’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
PureCycle Technologies	N/A	-107.05%	-23.78%
Zurn Elkay Water Solutions Cor	10.78%	15.23%	9.02%

Valuation & Earnings

This table compares PureCycle Technologies and Zurn Elkay Water Solutions Cor”s revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
PureCycle Technologies	N/A	N/A	-$289.14 million	($1.69)	-8.04
Zurn Elkay Water Solutions Cor	$1.57 billion	5.02	$160.20 million	$1.01	46.45

Zurn Elkay Water Solutions Cor has higher revenue and earnings than PureCycle Technologies. PureCycle Technologies is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Zurn Elkay Water Solutions Cor, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Volatility and Risk

PureCycle Technologies has a beta of 2.01, indicating that its share price is 101% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Zurn Elkay Water Solutions Cor has a beta of 1.09, indicating that its share price is 9% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Analyst Ratings

This is a breakdown of current ratings and price targets for PureCycle Technologies and Zurn Elkay Water Solutions Cor, as reported by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
PureCycle Technologies	1	0	4	2	3.00
Zurn Elkay Water Solutions Cor	0	4	3	0	2.43

PureCycle Technologies currently has a consensus target price of $15.00, indicating a potential upside of 10.38%. Zurn Elkay Water Solutions Cor has a consensus target price of $40.50, indicating a potential downside of 13.67%. Given PureCycle Technologies’ stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, research analysts plainly believe PureCycle Technologies is more favorable than Zurn Elkay Water Solutions Cor.

Insider & Institutional Ownership

63.0% of PureCycle Technologies shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 83.3% of Zurn Elkay Water Solutions Cor shares are owned by institutional investors. 21.7% of PureCycle Technologies shares are owned by insiders. Comparatively, 2.6% of Zurn Elkay Water Solutions Cor shares are owned by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, endowments and large money managers believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Summary

Zurn Elkay Water Solutions Cor beats PureCycle Technologies on 8 of the 14 factors compared between the two stocks.

About PureCycle Technologies

PureCycle Technologies, Inc. engages in the production of recycled polypropylene (PP). The company holds a license for restoring waste PP into ultra-pure recycled polypropylene resin that has multiple applications, including packaging and labeling for consumer products, piping, ropes, cabling, and plastic parts for various industries. Its recycling process separates color, odor, and other contaminants from plastic waste feedstock to transform it into virgin-like resin. The company was founded in 2015 and is headquartered in Orlando, Florida.

About Zurn Elkay Water Solutions Cor

Zurn Elkay Water Solutions Corporation engages in design, procurement, manufacture, and marketing of water management solutions in the United States, Canada, and internationally. It offers water safety and control products, such as backflow preventers, fire system valves, pressure reducing valves, thermostatic mixing valves, PEX pipings, fittings, and installation tools under the Zurn and Wilkins brand names. The company also provides flow systems products comprising point drains, hydrants, fixture carrier systems, chemical drainage systems; and interceptors and separators, acid neutralization systems, and remote monitoring systems under the Zurn and Green Turtle brands. In addition, it develops, manufactures, and markets remote tank monitoring devices, alarms, software, and services. Further, the company offers sensor-operated flush valves under the AquaSense, Aquaflush, and AquaVantage brands; heavy-duty commercial faucets under the AquaSpec brand; water conserving fixtures under the EcoVantage and Zurn One brands; stainless steel products under the Just Manufacturing brand name, which include stainless steel sinks and plumbing fixtures, and various types of sinks, as well as drinking water dispensing and filtration products under the Elkay and Halsey Taylor brands. It distributes to institutional, commercial, waterworks, and residential end markets through independent sales representatives, plumbing wholesalers, and industry-specific distributors in the waterworks, foodservice, industrial, janitorial, sanitation, and sitework industries. The company was formerly known as Zurn Water Solutions Corporation and changed its name to Zurn Elkay Water Solutions Corporation in July 2022. Zurn Elkay Water Solutions Corporation was incorporated in 1892 and is headquartered in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.