5E Advanced Materials (NASDAQ:FEAM) and Element Solutions (NYSE:ESI) Head to Head Contrast

Element Solutions (NYSE:ESI) and 5E Advanced Materials (NASDAQ:FEAM) are both basic materials companies, but which is the better investment? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their institutional ownership, valuation, risk, analyst recommendations, earnings, dividends and profitability.

Risk & Volatility

Element Solutions has a beta of 1.28, indicating that its stock price is 28% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, 5E Advanced Materials has a beta of 1.62, indicating that its stock price is 62% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Institutional & Insider Ownership

92.3% of Element Solutions shares are owned by institutional investors. 6.9% of Element Solutions shares are owned by insiders. Comparatively, 0.2% of 5E Advanced Materials shares are owned by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, large money managers and endowments believe a company will outperform the market over the long term.

Profitability

This table compares Element Solutions and 5E Advanced Materials’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Element Solutions	7.48%	13.79%	7.28%
5E Advanced Materials	N/A	-71.87%	-63.88%

Earnings and Valuation

This table compares Element Solutions and 5E Advanced Materials”s gross revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Element Solutions	$2.55 billion	3.51	$190.80 million	$0.79	46.53
5E Advanced Materials	N/A	N/A	-$31.56 million	($7.03)	-0.27

Element Solutions has higher revenue and earnings than 5E Advanced Materials. 5E Advanced Materials is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Element Solutions, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a breakdown of recent ratings and target prices for Element Solutions and 5E Advanced Materials, as reported by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Element Solutions	0	2	7	2	3.00
5E Advanced Materials	1	1	2	0	2.25

Element Solutions presently has a consensus target price of $35.75, indicating a potential downside of 2.74%. 5E Advanced Materials has a consensus target price of $8.13, indicating a potential upside of 332.18%. Given 5E Advanced Materials’ higher possible upside, analysts plainly believe 5E Advanced Materials is more favorable than Element Solutions.

Summary

Element Solutions beats 5E Advanced Materials on 12 of the 14 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Element Solutions

Element Solutions Inc operates as a specialty chemicals company in the United States, China, and internationally. The company operates in two segments, Electronics, and Industrial & Specialty. The Electronics segment researches, formulates, and sells specialty chemicals and materials for various types of electronics hardware products. This segment also supplies surface mount technologies, fluxes, thermal management material, coatings, and other attachment materials; chemical formulations to the electronics industry; and advanced copper interconnects, die attachment, sintered silver material, adhesives, wafer bump processes, and photomask technologies for semiconductor industry. It primarily serves mobile communications, computers, automobiles, and aerospace equipment industries. The Industrial & Specialty segment provides industrial solutions, which include chemical systems that protect and decorate metal and plastic surfaces; consumable chemicals that enable printing image transfer on flexible packaging materials; and chemistries used in water-based hydraulic control fluids for offshore energy production applications. It serves aerospace, automotive, construction, consumer electronics, consumer packaged goods, and oil and gas production end markets. The company was formerly known as Platform Specialty Products Corporation and changed its name to Element Solutions Inc in January 2019. Element Solutions Inc was founded in 1785 and is headquartered in Fort Lauderdale, Florida.

About 5E Advanced Materials

5E Advanced Materials, Inc. engages in the exploration and development of mineral properties in Australia and the United States. The company primarily explores for borates and lithium deposits. It holds 100% interest in the Fort Cady project located in the Mojave Desert region in eastern San Bernardino County, California. The company was formerly known as American Pacific Borates Limited. The company was incorporated in 2016 and is based in Hesperia, California.