Contrasting Elementis (OTCMKTS:ELMTY) & Westlake Chemical Partners (NYSE:WLKP)

Elementis (OTCMKTS:ELMTY) and Westlake Chemical Partners (NYSE:WLKP) are both small-cap basic materials companies, but which is the better stock? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their risk, valuation, profitability, earnings, dividends, analyst recommendations and institutional ownership.

Dividends

Elementis pays an annual dividend of $0.08 per share and has a dividend yield of 1.0%. Westlake Chemical Partners pays an annual dividend of $1.89 per share and has a dividend yield of 9.6%. Westlake Chemical Partners pays out 135.0% of its earnings in the form of a dividend, suggesting it may not have sufficient earnings to cover its dividend payment in the future.

Institutional & Insider Ownership

78.3% of Westlake Chemical Partners shares are held by institutional investors. 1.1% of Westlake Chemical Partners shares are held by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, large money managers and endowments believe a company will outperform the market over the long term.

Profitability

This table compares Elementis and Westlake Chemical Partners’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Elementis	N/A	N/A	N/A
Westlake Chemical Partners	4.34%	6.00%	3.75%

Analyst Recommendations

This is a breakdown of recent ratings and target prices for Elementis and Westlake Chemical Partners, as reported by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Elementis	0	0	0	0	0.00
Westlake Chemical Partners	0	2	0	0	2.00

Earnings & Valuation

This table compares Elementis and Westlake Chemical Partners”s revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Elementis	$738.30 million	1.60	-$47.80 million	N/A	N/A
Westlake Chemical Partners	$1.14 billion	0.61	$62.39 million	$1.40	14.13

Westlake Chemical Partners has higher revenue and earnings than Elementis.

Volatility & Risk

Elementis has a beta of 0.37, suggesting that its stock price is 63% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Westlake Chemical Partners has a beta of 0.61, suggesting that its stock price is 39% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Summary

Westlake Chemical Partners beats Elementis on 10 of the 12 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Elementis

Elementis plc operates as a specialty chemical company in the United Kingdom, rest of Europe, North America, and internationally. It operates in two segments, Performance Specialties and Personal Care. The Performance Specialties segment engages in the production of rheological modifiers and additives for decorative and industrial coatings; and production and supply of talc for use in plastics, coatings, technical ceramics, and paper sectors. The Personal Care segment provides rheological modifiers and compounded products, including active ingredients for antiperspirants (AP) deodorants for personal care manufacturers. The company offers personal care products for antiperspirants, color cosmetics, and skin care applications; and performance specialties products for architectural coatings, adhesives, sealants and construction additives, and talc applications. Elementis plc was founded in 1844 and is headquartered in London, the United Kingdom.

About Westlake Chemical Partners

Westlake Chemical Partners LP acquires, develops, and operates ethylene production facilities and related assets in the United States. The company’s ethylene production facilities primarily convert ethane into ethylene. It also sells ethylene co-products, such as propylene, crude butadiene, pyrolysis gasoline, and hydrogen directly to third parties on either a spot or contract basis. Westlake Chemical Partners GP LLC serves as the general partner of the company. Westlake Chemical Partners LP was founded in 1991 and is headquartered in Houston, Texas.