Comparing Standard Lithium (NYSE:SLI) & Ecovyst (NYSE:ECVT)

Standard Lithium (NYSE:SLI) and Ecovyst (NYSE:ECVT) are both small-cap oils/energy companies, but which is the better investment? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their risk, earnings, analyst recommendations, dividends, profitability, institutional ownership and valuation.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a breakdown of recent ratings and recommmendations for Standard Lithium and Ecovyst, as reported by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Standard Lithium	0	0	1	0	3.00
Ecovyst	0	0	3	0	3.00

Standard Lithium currently has a consensus target price of $3.50, indicating a potential upside of 75.00%. Ecovyst has a consensus target price of $11.00, indicating a potential upside of 64.67%. Given Standard Lithium’s higher possible upside, equities analysts plainly believe Standard Lithium is more favorable than Ecovyst.

Volatility and Risk

Standard Lithium has a beta of 1.89, indicating that its stock price is 89% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Ecovyst has a beta of 1.01, indicating that its stock price is 1% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Profitability

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

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Standard Lithium	N/A	-15.67%	-14.05%
Ecovyst	8.14%	7.88%	3.04%

Insider & Institutional Ownership

16.8% of Standard Lithium shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 86.7% of Ecovyst shares are owned by institutional investors. 3.7% of Standard Lithium shares are owned by company insiders. Comparatively, 1.6% of Ecovyst shares are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, endowments and large money managers believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.

Valuation and Earnings

This table compares Standard Lithium and Ecovyst”s revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Standard Lithium	N/A	N/A	$108.82 million	($0.23)	-8.70
Ecovyst	$689.49 million	1.13	$71.15 million	$0.63	10.60

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

Summary

Ecovyst beats Standard Lithium on 8 of the 12 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Standard Lithium

Standard Lithium Ltd. explores for, develops, and processes lithium brine properties in the United States. Its flagship project is the Lanxess project with area of approximately 150,000 acres located in southern Arkansas. The company was formerly known as Patriot Petroleum Corp. and changed its name to Standard Lithium Ltd. in December 2016. Standard Lithium Ltd. was incorporated in 1998 and is headquartered in Vancouver, Canada.

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.