ARQ (NASDAQ:ARQ) & HighCom Global Security (OTCMKTS:HCGS) Head to Head Comparison

ARQ (NASDAQ:ARQ) and HighCom Global Security (OTCMKTS:HCGS) are both small-cap business services companies, but which is the superior business? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their risk, dividends, profitability, valuation, institutional ownership, earnings and analyst recommendations.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a breakdown of current recommendations and price targets for ARQ and HighCom Global Security, as reported by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
ARQ	0	0	2	0	3.00
HighCom Global Security	0	0	0	0	0.00

ARQ currently has a consensus price target of $10.00, suggesting a potential upside of 42.65%. Given ARQ’s stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, equities analysts plainly believe ARQ is more favorable than HighCom Global Security.

Profitability

This table compares ARQ and HighCom Global Security’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
ARQ	-0.44%	-0.25%	-0.19%
HighCom Global Security	N/A	N/A	N/A

Insider & Institutional Ownership

18.5% of ARQ shares are owned by institutional investors. 26.9% of ARQ shares are owned by company insiders. Comparatively, 16.0% of HighCom Global Security shares are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, endowments and large money managers believe a company will outperform the market over the long term.

Earnings & Valuation

This table compares ARQ and HighCom Global Security”s gross revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
ARQ	$110.02 million	2.68	-$12.25 million	($0.01)	-701.00
HighCom Global Security	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A

HighCom Global Security has lower revenue, but higher earnings than ARQ.

Summary

ARQ beats HighCom Global Security on 6 of the 9 factors compared between the two stocks.

About ARQ

Arq, Inc. produces activated carbon products in North America. The company's products include granular activated carbon, powdered and granular activated carbon, and colloidal carbon products; Arq Powder Wetcake, a fine and low-ash coal waste-derived particle; and additives for air emissions control. Its products are used in various applications, including water treatment, ground water remediation, soil sediments, air emissions, and asphalt additives. The company was formerly known as Advanced Emissions Solutions, Inc. and changed its name to Arq, Inc. in February 2024. Arq, Inc. was founded in 1997 and is headquartered in Greenwood Village, Colorado.

About HighCom Global Security

HighCom Global Security, Inc., together with its subsidiaries, designs, develops, manufactures, and distributes security products and personal protective gears in the United States and internationally. The company offers ballistic helmets, hard armor plates, soft armor vests, and ballistic shields. It also provides BlastWrap, a blast mitigation technology that contains explosions and suppresses resulting flash fires. The company was formerly known as BlastGard International, Inc. and changed its name to HighCom Global Security, Inc. in June 2017. HighCom Global Security, Inc. was incorporated in 2003 and is based in Columbus, Ohio.