Ecovyst (NYSE:ECVT) and Mativ (NYSE:MATV) Head to Head Survey

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

Earnings and Valuation

This table compares Ecovyst and Mativ”s gross revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Ecovyst	$704.50 million	1.70	-$6.65 million	($0.93)	-11.30
Mativ	$1.98 billion	0.37	-$48.70 million	($8.03)	-1.65

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

Volatility & Risk

Ecovyst has a beta of 1.2, meaning that its share price is 20% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Mativ has a beta of 0.83, meaning that its share price is 17% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Institutional & Insider Ownership

86.7% of Ecovyst shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 94.9% of Mativ shares are held by institutional investors. 1.5% of Ecovyst shares are held by insiders. Comparatively, 1.0% of Mativ shares are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, large money managers and hedge funds believe a company will outperform the market over the long term.

Profitability

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

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Ecovyst	-14.34%	8.93%	3.38%
Mativ	-22.03%	7.06%	1.73%

Analyst Recommendations

This is a summary of recent ratings and recommmendations for Ecovyst and Mativ, as reported by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Ecovyst	1	1	4	0	2.50
Mativ	1	1	1	0	2.00

Ecovyst currently has a consensus target price of $11.60, suggesting a potential upside of 10.42%. Mativ has a consensus target price of $10.00, suggesting a potential downside of 24.73%. Given Ecovyst’s stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, analysts plainly believe Ecovyst is more favorable than Mativ.

Summary

Ecovyst beats Mativ on 11 of the 14 factors compared between the two stocks.

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.

About Mativ

Mativ Holdings, Inc., together with its subsidiaries, manufactures and sells specialty materials in the United States, Europe, the Asia Pacific, the Americas, and internationally. The company operates through two segments, Advanced Technical Materials and Fiber-Based Solutions. The Advanced Technical Materials manufactures and sells various engineered polymer, resin and fiber-based substrates, nets, films, adhesive tapes, and other nonwovens for the filtration, protective solutions, release liners, and healthcare end-markets. This segment sells its products directly, as well as through sales agents and distributors. The Fiber-Based Solutions segment produces packaging and specialty paper products. This segment provides premium packaging products that are used for wine, spirits and beer labels, folding cartons, box wrap, bags, hang tags, and stored value cards servicing retail, cosmetics, spirits, and electronics end-use markets; and premium papers, which are used in commercial printing services, advertising collateral, stationery, corporate identity packages and brochures, direct mail, business cards, and other uses. It also offers branded paper-based products for the consumer channel, such as bright papers, cardstock, stationery paper, envelopes, journals, and planners. This segment distributes its products through authorized paper distributors, converters, retailers, and specialty business converters, as well as directly to end-users. The company was formerly known as Schweitzer-Mauduit International, Inc. and changed its name to Mativ Holdings, Inc. in July 2022. Mativ Holdings, Inc. was incorporated in 1995 and is headquartered in Alpharetta, Georgia.