Critical Survey: Global Payment Technologies (OTCMKTS:GPTX) & Ascent Industries (NASDAQ:ACNT)

Ascent Industries (NASDAQ:ACNT) and Global Payment Technologies (OTCMKTS:GPTX) are both industrials companies, but which is the superior business? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their institutional ownership, profitability, earnings, risk, dividends, valuation and analyst recommendations.

Institutional and Insider Ownership

26.1% of Ascent Industries shares are held by institutional investors. 9.3% of Ascent Industries shares are held by company insiders. Comparatively, 10.1% of Global Payment Technologies shares are held by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, hedge funds and large money managers believe a company will outperform the market over the long term.

Valuation and Earnings

This table compares Ascent Industries and Global Payment Technologies”s revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Ascent Industries	$177.87 million	0.78	-$13.60 million	$0.12	123.92
Global Payment Technologies	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A

Global Payment Technologies has lower revenue, but higher earnings than Ascent Industries.

Analyst Ratings

This is a breakdown of current recommendations and price targets for Ascent Industries and Global Payment Technologies, as provided by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Ascent Industries	1	0	0	0	1.00
Global Payment Technologies	0	0	0	0	0.00

Given Global Payment Technologies’ higher possible upside, analysts clearly believe Global Payment Technologies is more favorable than Ascent Industries.

Volatility and Risk

Ascent Industries has a beta of 0.5, suggesting that its stock price is 50% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Global Payment Technologies has a beta of -15.84, suggesting that its stock price is 1,684% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Profitability

This table compares Ascent Industries and Global Payment Technologies’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Ascent Industries	0.85%	-1.63%	-1.09%
Global Payment Technologies	N/A	N/A	N/A

Summary

Ascent Industries beats Global Payment Technologies on 5 of the 9 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Ascent Industries

Ascent Industries Co. an industrials company, produces and distributes stainless steel pipe and tube and specialty chemicals in the United States and internationally. The company operates through two segments, Tubular Products and Specialty Chemicals. It manufactures welded pipes and tubes, primarily from stainless steel, duplex, and nickel alloys; and ornamental stainless steel tubes for automotive, commercial transportation, marine, food services, construction, furniture, healthcare, and other industries. The company also produces defoamers, surfactants, and lubricating agents for end users, including companies that supply agrochemical paper, metal working, coatings, water treatment, paint, mining, oil and gas, and janitorial and other applications. In addition, it provides contract manufacturing services, as well as operates as a multi-purpose plant to process various difficult to handle materials, including flammable solvents, viscous liquids, and granular solids. The company was formerly known as Synalloy Corporation and changed its name to Ascent Industries Co. in August 2022. Ascent Industries Co. was founded in 1945 and is based in Oak Brook, Illinois.

About Global Payment Technologies

Global Payment Technologies Inc. designs and manufactures currency validators and paper currency stackers. Its equipment is used to process currency in gaming machines and vending machines that dispense products, services, coins, and other currencies. Its customers include gaming equipment and vending machine manufacturers in the United States and internationally. Global Payment Technologies Inc. was formerly known as Coin Bill Validator Inc. and changed its name to Global Payment Technologies Inc. in November 1994. The company was incorporated in 1988 and is based in Hauppauge, New York.