Head-To-Head Analysis: Ecovyst (NYSE:ECVT) & Toray Industries (OTCMKTS:TRYIY)

Toray Industries (OTCMKTS:TRYIY) and Ecovyst (NYSE:ECVT) are both materials companies, but which is the superior investment? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their valuation, profitability, institutional ownership, earnings, risk, dividends and analyst recommendations.

Valuation and Earnings

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

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Toray Industries	$17.17 billion	0.72	$524.84 million	$0.82	20.09
Ecovyst	$723.50 million	1.60	-$71.13 million	$0.32	33.35

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

Analyst Recommendations

This is a summary of current ratings and price targets for Toray Industries and Ecovyst, as provided by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Toray Industries	0	1	0	1	3.00
Ecovyst	1	1	4	1	2.71

Ecovyst has a consensus price target of $14.62, suggesting a potential upside of 37.05%. Given Ecovyst’s higher probable upside, analysts plainly believe Ecovyst is more favorable than Toray Industries.

Profitability

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

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Toray Industries	3.48%	4.84%	2.66%
Ecovyst	3.72%	14.38%	6.38%

Risk and Volatility

Toray Industries has a beta of 0.54, suggesting that its share price is 46% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Ecovyst has a beta of 1.08, suggesting that its share price is 8% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Insider and Institutional Ownership

86.7% of Ecovyst shares are owned by institutional investors. 1.8% of Ecovyst shares are owned 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.

Summary

Ecovyst beats Toray Industries on 10 of the 14 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Toray Industries

Toray Industries is a Japanese materials and chemicals company with operations spanning fibers and textiles, performance chemicals, carbon-fiber composite materials, environmental solutions, and life sciences. Its products include synthetic fibers and fabrics, plastics and films, carbon fiber, and water-treatment membranes. Founded in 1926 as Toyo Rayon, the company initially focused on rayon and later expanded into a broad range of advanced materials and technologies. It adopted the name Toray Industries in 1970.

About Ecovyst

Ecovyst Inc. is a specialty chemicals company that supplies catalysts, materials and services to customers in the refining, chemicals and other industrial sectors. Its businesses include sulfuric acid services and catalyst technologies. Through its Ecoservices business, Ecovyst regenerates spent sulfuric acid for reuse and supplies virgin sulfuric acid. These services support industrial processes, including those used in petroleum refining and chemical manufacturing. The company’s catalyst technologies include zeolite catalysts and silica-based materials used in refining and chemical applications.