Comparing Enlightify (NYSE:ENFY) & Koppers (NYSE:KOP)

Enlightify (NYSE:ENFY) and Koppers (NYSE:KOP) are both small-cap basic materials companies, but which is the better investment? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their earnings, risk, analyst recommendations, institutional ownership, dividends, valuation and profitability.

Volatility & Risk

Enlightify has a beta of 1.03, indicating that its share price is 3% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Koppers has a beta of 1.4, indicating that its share price is 40% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Profitability

This table compares Enlightify and Koppers’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Enlightify	-22.98%	-18.78%	-11.03%
Koppers	0.84%	16.48%	4.46%

Insider & Institutional Ownership

0.1% of Enlightify shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 92.8% of Koppers shares are held by institutional investors. 14.2% of Enlightify shares are held by company insiders. Comparatively, 6.9% of Koppers shares are held by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, hedge funds and endowments believe a stock will outperform the market over the long term.

Valuation and Earnings

This table compares Enlightify and Koppers”s revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Enlightify	$79.21 million	0.02	-$28.41 million	($0.86)	-0.10
Koppers	$2.09 billion	0.27	$52.40 million	$0.80	35.69

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

Analyst Recommendations

This is a summary of current recommendations for Enlightify and Koppers, as provided by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Enlightify	1	0	0	0	1.00
Koppers	0	2	2	0	2.50

Koppers has a consensus price target of $52.50, indicating a potential upside of 83.86%. Given Koppers’ stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, analysts clearly believe Koppers is more favorable than Enlightify.

Summary

Koppers beats Enlightify on 13 of the 14 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Enlightify

Enlightify, Inc. engages in the research, development, production, and sale of various types of fertilizers and agricultural products. It operates through the following segments: Jinong, Gufeng, and Yuxing. The Jinong segment includes fertilizer products, with focus on humic acid-based compound fertilizer. The Gufeng segment refers to the compound fertilizer, blended fertilizer, organic compound fertilizer, slow-release fertilizers, highly concentrated water-soluble fertilizers, and mixed organic-inorganic compound fertilizer. The Yuxing segment develops and produces agricultural products, such as top-grade fruits, vegetables, flowers, and colored seedlings. The company was founded by Tao Li on February 6, 1987 and is headquartered in Xi’an, China.

About Koppers

Koppers Holdings Inc. provides treated wood products, wood preservation chemicals, and carbon compounds in the United States, Australasia, Europe, and internationally. The company operates through Railroad and Utility Products and Services (RUPS), Performance Chemicals (PC), and Carbon Materials and Chemicals (CMC) segments. The RUPS segment procures and treats crossties, switch ties, and various types of lumber used for railroad bridges and crossings. It also provides rail joint bars to join rails together for railroads; transmission and distribution poles for electric and telephone utilities; and pilings. This segment provides railroad services, such as engineering, design, repair, and inspection services for railroad bridges. The PC segment develops, manufactures, and markets copper-based wood preservatives, including micronized copper azole, micronized pigments, alkaline copper quaternary, amine copper azole, and chromated copper arsenate for decking, fencing, utility poles, construction lumber and timbers, and various agricultural uses; and supplies fire-retardant chemicals for pressure treatment of wood primarily in commercial construction. The CMC segment manufactures creosote for the treatment of wood or as a feedstock in the production of carbon black; carbon pitch, a raw material used in the production of aluminum and steel; naphthalene for use as a feedstock in the production of phthalic anhydride and as a surfactant in the production of concrete; phthalic anhydride for the production of plasticizers, polyester resins, and alkyd paints; and carbon black feedstock for use in the production of carbon black. It serves the railroad, specialty chemical, utility, residential lumber, agriculture, aluminum, steel, rubber, and construction sectors. Koppers Holdings Inc. was founded in 1988 and is based in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.