Critical Comparison: 5N Plus (FPLSF) and Its Peers

5N Plus (OTCMKTS:FPLSF) is one of 297 public companies in the “Chemicals” industry, but how does it contrast to its competitors? We will compare 5N Plus to similar companies based on the strength of its earnings, valuation, profitability, risk, dividends, institutional ownership and analyst recommendations.

Institutional & Insider Ownership

0.1% of 5N Plus shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 48.1% of shares of all “Chemicals” companies are held by institutional investors. 3.9% of 5N Plus shares are held by insiders. Comparatively, 14.0% of shares of all “Chemicals” companies are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, endowments and large money managers believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Volatility and Risk

5N Plus has a beta of 1.86, suggesting that its stock price is 86% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, 5N Plus’ competitors have a beta of 1.23, suggesting that their average stock price is 23% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Profitability

This table compares 5N Plus and its competitors’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
5N Plus	14.14%	26.36%	11.28%
5N Plus Competitors	-60.57%	-10.75%	-1.28%

Valuation & Earnings

This table compares 5N Plus and its competitors top-line revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Net Income	Price/Earnings Ratio
5N Plus	$391.06 million	$50.57 million	25.71
5N Plus Competitors	$7.95 billion	$216.27 million	-5.11

5N Plus’ competitors have higher revenue and earnings than 5N Plus. 5N Plus is trading at a higher price-to-earnings ratio than its competitors, indicating that it is currently more expensive than other companies in its industry.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a summary of current recommendations and price targets for 5N Plus and its competitors, as reported by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
5N Plus	0	1	2	1	3.00
5N Plus Competitors	3214	12214	14237	503	2.40

As a group, “Chemicals” companies have a potential upside of 12.42%. Given 5N Plus’ competitors higher possible upside, analysts clearly believe 5N Plus has less favorable growth aspects than its competitors.

Summary

5N Plus beats its competitors on 8 of the 13 factors compared.

5N Plus Company Profile

5N Plus Inc. produces and sells specialty metals and chemicals in North America, Europe, and Asia. It operates through two segments, Specialty Semiconductors and Performance Materials. The company offers semiconductor compounds, semiconductor wafers, metals, epitaxial semiconductor substrates, and solar cells. It also provides active pharmaceutical ingredients, animal feed additives, specialized chemicals, commercial grade metals, alloys, engineered powders, and recycling services. The company serves renewable energy, security, space, pharmaceutical, medical imaging, manufacturing, electronic, consumer, and industrial application markets. 5N Plus Inc. is headquartered in Montreal, Canada.