Contrasting Linde (NASDAQ:LIN) & Ecovyst (NYSE:ECVT)

Linde (NASDAQ:LIN) and Ecovyst (NYSE:ECVT) are both basic materials companies, but which is the better investment? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their dividends, risk, earnings, profitability, institutional ownership, valuation and analyst recommendations.

Earnings and Valuation

This table compares Linde and Ecovyst”s revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Linde	$34.66 billion	6.78	$6.90 billion	$15.06	33.73
Ecovyst	$723.50 million	1.94	-$71.13 million	($0.55)	-23.35

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

Analyst Recommendations

This is a summary of current recommendations and price targets for Linde and Ecovyst, as provided by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Linde	0	1	10	1	3.00
Ecovyst	1	1	4	0	2.50

Linde currently has a consensus price target of $541.91, indicating a potential upside of 6.70%. Ecovyst has a consensus price target of $14.20, indicating a potential upside of 10.55%. Given Ecovyst’s higher probable upside, analysts plainly believe Ecovyst is more favorable than Linde.

Institutional and Insider Ownership

82.8% of Linde shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 86.7% of Ecovyst shares are held by institutional investors. 0.3% of Linde shares are held by insiders. Comparatively, 1.8% of Ecovyst shares are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, large money managers and hedge funds believe a stock will outperform the market over the long term.

Risk and Volatility

Linde has a beta of 0.72, suggesting that its stock price is 28% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Ecovyst has a beta of 1.08, suggesting that its stock price is 8% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Profitability

This table compares Linde and Ecovyst’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Linde	20.44%	19.80%	9.17%
Ecovyst	-7.71%	11.58%	4.76%

Summary

Linde beats Ecovyst on 11 of the 15 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Linde

Linde plc operates as an industrial gas company in the Americas, Europe, the Middle East, Africa, Asia, and South Pacific. It offers atmospheric gases, including oxygen, nitrogen, argon, and rare gases; and process gases, such as carbon dioxide, helium, hydrogen, electronic gases, specialty gases, and acetylene. The company also designs and constructs turnkey process plants for third-party customers, as well as for the gas businesses in various locations, such as air separation, hydrogen, synthesis, olefin, and natural gas plants. It serves a range of industries, including healthcare, chemicals and energy, manufacturing, metals and mining, food and beverage, and electronics. The company was founded in 1879 and is based in Woking, the United Kingdom.

About Ecovyst

Ecovyst Inc. offers specialty catalysts and services in the United States and internationally. The company operates in two segments, Ecoservices and Advanced Materials & Catalysts. The Ecoservices segment provides sulfuric acid recycling services and end-to-end logistics for production of alkylate for refineries; and virgin sulfuric acid for mining, water treatment, and industrial applications. The Advanced Materials & Catalysts segment offers advanced materials and specialty catalyst products and process solutions to producers and licensors of polyethylene and advanced silicas. This segment also supplies specialty zeolites and zeolite-based catalysts to customers for refining of oil primarily hydrocracking catalyst and dewaxing, sustainable fuels, and emission control systems for both on-road and non-road diesel engines. The company was formerly known as PQ Group Holdings Inc. and changed its name to Ecovyst Inc. in August 2021. Ecovyst Inc. was founded in 1831 and is headquartered in Malvern, Pennsylvania.