Head to Head Review: Alto Ingredients (NASDAQ:ALTO) and Ceconomy (OTCMKTS:MTTRY)

Alto Ingredients (NASDAQ:ALTO) and Ceconomy (OTCMKTS:MTTRY) are both consumer discretionary companies, but which is the superior business? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their institutional ownership, earnings, dividends, analyst recommendations, valuation, risk and profitability.

Institutional & Insider Ownership

42.4% of Alto Ingredients shares are held by institutional investors. 5.3% of Alto Ingredients shares are held by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, endowments and hedge funds believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.

Volatility and Risk

Alto Ingredients has a beta of 0.6, indicating that its stock price is 40% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Ceconomy has a beta of 1.3, indicating that its stock price is 30% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Profitability

This table compares Alto Ingredients and Ceconomy’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Alto Ingredients	1.45%	3.10%	1.69%
Ceconomy	0.71%	46.82%	2.53%

Analyst Recommendations

This is a breakdown of current recommendations for Alto Ingredients and Ceconomy, as reported by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Alto Ingredients	1	1	0	0	1.50
Ceconomy	0	0	0	1	4.00

Valuation & Earnings

This table compares Alto Ingredients and Ceconomy”s gross revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Alto Ingredients	$922.31 million	0.34	-$58.98 million	$0.16	25.13
Ceconomy	$25.51 billion	0.10	-$38.73 million	$0.08	13.25

Ceconomy has higher revenue and earnings than Alto Ingredients. Ceconomy is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Alto Ingredients, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Summary

Ceconomy beats Alto Ingredients on 7 of the 13 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Alto Ingredients

Alto Ingredients, Inc. produces, distributes, and markets specialty alcohols, renewable fuel, and essential ingredients in the United States. The company operates in three segments: Marketing and Distribution, Pekin Campus Production, and Western Production. It offers specialty alcohols used in mouthwash, cosmetics, pharmaceuticals, hand sanitizers, disinfectants, and cleaners for health, home, and beauty markets; grain neutral spirits used in alcoholic beverages and vinegar, as well as corn germ used in corn oils in the food and beverage markets; alcohols and other products for paint applications and fertilizers in the industrial and agriculture markets; and essential ingredients include dried yeast, corn protein meal, corn protein feed, distiller's grains, and liquid feed for commercial animal feed and pet food applications, as well as yeast for human consumption. The company also provides fuel-grade ethanol used as transportation fuel and distillers corn oil used as a biodiesel feedstock, as well as fuel-grade ethanol produced by third parties. In addition, it offers transportation, storage, and delivery services through third-party service providers. The company sells ethanol to integrated oil companies and gasoline marketers; essential ingredient feed products to dairies and feedlots; and corn oil to poultry, renewable diesel, and biodiesel customers. It operates alcohol production facilities. The company was formerly known as Pacific Ethanol, Inc. and changed its name to Alto Ingredients, Inc. in January 2021. Alto Ingredients, Inc. was founded in 2003 and is headquartered in Pekin, Illinois.

About Ceconomy

Ceconomy AG, together with its subsidiaries, engages in the consumer electronics retail business. It operates stores under the MediaMarkt and Saturn brands. The company offers professional assistance for the installation, connection, and troubleshooting of electronic devices at home under the Deutsche Technikberatung brand. It operates in Germany, Austria, Switzerland, and Hungary, as well as in Western, Southern, and Eastern Europe. Ceconomy AG is based in Düsseldorf, Germany.