Contrasting Aspen Aerogels (NYSE:ASPN) & Latham Group (NASDAQ:SWIM)

Aspen Aerogels (NYSE:ASPN) and Latham Group (NASDAQ:SWIM) are both small-cap construction companies, but which is the superior business? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their risk, earnings, analyst recommendations, valuation, profitability, dividends and institutional ownership.

Earnings & Valuation

This table compares Aspen Aerogels and Latham Group”s revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Aspen Aerogels	$271.10 million	1.93	-$389.55 million	($1.36)	-4.64
Latham Group	$545.91 million	1.25	$11.12 million	$0.07	83.14

Latham Group has higher revenue and earnings than Aspen Aerogels. Aspen Aerogels is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Latham Group, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Risk & Volatility

Aspen Aerogels has a beta of 3.03, suggesting that its stock price is 203% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Latham Group has a beta of 1.67, suggesting that its stock price is 67% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Analyst Ratings

This is a summary of current ratings for Aspen Aerogels and Latham Group, as provided by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Aspen Aerogels	2	1	3	0	2.17
Latham Group	2	3	2	0	2.00

Aspen Aerogels currently has a consensus price target of $5.19, suggesting a potential downside of 17.85%. Latham Group has a consensus price target of $7.50, suggesting a potential upside of 28.87%. Given Latham Group’s higher possible upside, analysts clearly believe Latham Group is more favorable than Aspen Aerogels.

Institutional and Insider Ownership

97.6% of Aspen Aerogels shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 84.0% of Latham Group shares are held by institutional investors. 3.0% of Aspen Aerogels shares are held by company insiders. Comparatively, 3.3% of Latham Group shares are held by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, endowments and hedge funds believe a company will outperform the market over the long term.

Profitability

This table compares Aspen Aerogels and Latham Group’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Aspen Aerogels	-48.64%	-22.16%	-12.85%
Latham Group	1.55%	2.13%	1.02%

Summary

Latham Group beats Aspen Aerogels on 9 of the 14 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Aspen Aerogels

Aspen Aerogels, Inc. designs, develops, manufactures, and sells aerogel insulation products primarily for use in the energy infrastructure and sustainable insulation materials markets in the United States, Asia, Canada, Europe, and Latin America. It operates in two segments, Energy Industrial and Thermal Barrier. The company offers PyroThin thermal barriers for use in lithium-ion batteries in electric vehicles and energy storage industries; Pyrogel XTE that reduces the risk of corrosion under insulation in energy infrastructure operating systems; and Pyrogel HPS for applications within the power generation market. It also offers Pyrogel XTF to provide protection against fire; Cryogel Z for sub-ambient and cryogenic applications in the energy infrastructure market; Spaceloft Subsea for use in pipe-in-pipe applications in offshore oil production; and Cryogel X201, which is used in designing cold systems, such as refrigerated appliances, cold storage equipment, and aerospace systems. The company was founded in 2001 and is headquartered in Northborough, Massachusetts.

About Latham Group

Latham Group, Inc. designs, manufactures, and markets in-ground residential swimming pools in North America, Australia, and New Zealand. It offers a portfolio of pools and related products, including in-ground swimming pools that include fiber glass and packaged pools; and pool covers and liners under the Latham, Narellan, CoverStar, Radiant, and GLI brand names. The company was formerly known as Latham Topco, Inc. and changed its name to Latham Group, Inc. in March 2021. Latham Group, Inc. was founded in 1956 and is headquartered in Latham, New York.