Axalta Coating Systems (NYSE:AXTA) versus Ecolab (NYSE:ECL) Head-To-Head Comparison

Ecolab (NYSE:ECL) and Axalta Coating Systems (NYSE:AXTA) are both basic materials companies, but which is the superior investment? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their analyst recommendations, risk, valuation, earnings, profitability, institutional ownership and dividends.

Valuation and Earnings

This table compares Ecolab and Axalta Coating Systems”s gross revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Ecolab	$16.08 billion	4.63	$2.08 billion	$7.28	36.23
Axalta Coating Systems	$5.12 billion	1.12	$378.00 million	$1.74	15.40

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

Volatility & Risk

Ecolab has a beta of 1.02, meaning that its stock price is 2% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Axalta Coating Systems has a beta of 1.33, meaning that its stock price is 33% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a breakdown of recent ratings and recommmendations for Ecolab and Axalta Coating Systems, as reported by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Ecolab	0	5	14	1	2.80
Axalta Coating Systems	0	12	7	0	2.37

Ecolab currently has a consensus target price of $323.56, indicating a potential upside of 22.67%. Axalta Coating Systems has a consensus target price of $36.13, indicating a potential upside of 34.82%. Given Axalta Coating Systems’ higher possible upside, analysts plainly believe Axalta Coating Systems is more favorable than Ecolab.

Institutional and Insider Ownership

74.9% of Ecolab shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 98.3% of Axalta Coating Systems shares are held by institutional investors. 0.0% of Ecolab shares are held by insiders. Comparatively, 0.3% of Axalta Coating Systems shares are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, large money managers and hedge funds believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.

Profitability

This table compares Ecolab and Axalta Coating Systems’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Ecolab	12.91%	22.73%	9.08%
Axalta Coating Systems	7.39%	23.60%	7.07%

Summary

Ecolab beats Axalta Coating Systems on 10 of the 15 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Ecolab

Ecolab Inc. provides water, hygiene, and infection prevention solutions and services in the United States and internationally. The company operates through three segments: Global Industrial; Global Institutional & Specialty; and Global Healthcare & Life Sciences. The Global Industrial segment offers water treatment and process applications, and cleaning and sanitizing solutions to manufacturing, food and beverage processing, transportation, chemical, metals and mining, power generation, pulp and paper, commercial laundry, petroleum, refining, and petrochemical industries. Its Global Institutional & Specialty segment provides specialized cleaning and sanitizing products to the foodservice, hospitality, lodging, government and education, and retail industries. The Global Healthcare & Life Sciences segment offers specialized cleaning and sanitizing products to the healthcare, personal care, and pharmaceutical industries, such as infection prevention and surgical solutions, and end-to-end cleaning and contamination control solutions under the Ecolab, Microtek, and Anios brand names. In addition, the company provides pest elimination services to detect, eliminate, and prevent pests, such as rodents and insects in restaurants, food and beverage processors, hotels, grocery operations, and other commercial segments including education, life sciences, and healthcare customers. Further, it offers colloidal silica for binding and polishing applications in semiconductor, catalyst, and aerospace component manufacturing, as well as chemical industries; and products and services that manage wash process through custom designed programs, premium products, dispensing equipment, water and energy management, and reduction, as well as real time data management. It sells its products through field sales and corporate account personnel, distributors, and dealers. Ecolab Inc. was founded in 1923 and is headquartered in Saint Paul, Minnesota.

About Axalta Coating Systems

Axalta Coating Systems Ltd., through its subsidiaries, manufactures, markets, and distributes high-performance coatings systems in North America, Europe, the Middle East, Africa, the Asia Pacific, and Latin America. The company operates through two segments, Performance Coatings and Mobility Coatings. It also offers water and solvent-borne products and systems to repair damaged vehicles for independent body shops, multi-shop operators, and original equipment manufacturer (OEM) dealership body shops. In addition, the company provides functional and decorative liquid, and powder coatings used in various industrial applications, including building materials, cabinet, wood and luxury vinyl flooring and furniture market under the Voltatex, AquaEC, Durapon, Hydropon, UNRIVALED, Ceranamel, Industrial, Corlar Industrial, Tufcote, Imron Industrial, Alesta, Teodur, Nap-Gard, Abcite, and Plascoat brands for powder coatings. Further, it develops and supplies electrocoat, primer, the basecoat, and clearcoat products for OEMs of light and commercial vehicles; and coatings systems for various commercial applications, including HDT, MDT, bus, and rail under the Imron, Imron Elite, Centari, Rival, Corlar epoxy undercoats, and AquaEC brands. The company offers products under the Audurra, Abcite, Alesta, AquaEC, Centari, Ceranamel, Challenger, Chemophan, ColorNet, Cromax, Cromax Mosaic, Durapon 70, Duxone, Harmonized Coating Technologies, Imron ExcelPro, Lutophen, Nason, Spies Hecker, Standox, Stollaquid, Syntopal, Syrox, Raptor, U-POL, and Vermeera brand names. The company was formerly known as Axalta Coating Systems Bermuda Co., Ltd. and changed its name to Axalta Coating Systems Ltd. in August 2014. Axalta Coating Systems Ltd. was founded in 1866 and is headquartered in Glen Mills, Pennsylvania.