Critical Comparison: Alto Ingredients (NASDAQ:ALTO) & Insynergy Products (OTCMKTS:STCB)

Alto Ingredients (NASDAQ:ALTO) and Insynergy Products (OTCMKTS:STCB) are both small-cap consumer discretionary companies, but which is the superior stock? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their dividends, risk, institutional ownership, earnings, profitability, valuation and analyst recommendations.

Analyst Ratings

This is a breakdown of current ratings and price targets for Alto Ingredients and Insynergy Products, as reported by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Alto Ingredients	0	1	1	1	3.00
Insynergy Products	0	0	0	0	0.00

Alto Ingredients presently has a consensus price target of $10.00, suggesting a potential upside of 75.44%. Given Alto Ingredients’ stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, analysts clearly believe Alto Ingredients is more favorable than Insynergy Products.

Institutional and Insider Ownership

42.4% of Alto Ingredients shares are owned by institutional investors. 5.3% of Alto Ingredients shares are owned by company insiders. Comparatively, 34.8% of Insynergy Products shares are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, large money managers and hedge funds believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Profitability

This table compares Alto Ingredients and Insynergy Products’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Alto Ingredients	3.20%	9.77%	5.81%
Insynergy Products	-61.88%	-99.43%	-50.57%

Earnings & Valuation

This table compares Alto Ingredients and Insynergy Products”s top-line revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Alto Ingredients	$917.93 million	0.48	$13.34 million	$0.37	15.41
Insynergy Products	$40.48 million	0.62	-$20.93 million	($0.03)	-1.07

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

Volatility and Risk

Alto Ingredients has a beta of 0.13, indicating that its stock price is 87% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Insynergy Products has a beta of 1.21, indicating that its stock price is 21% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Summary

Alto Ingredients beats Insynergy Products on 12 of the 15 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Alto Ingredients

Alto Ingredients, Inc. produces, distributes, and markets specialty alcohols, renewable fuel, and essential ingredients in the United States. The company operates in three segments: Marketing and Distribution, Pekin Campus Production, and Western Production. It offers specialty alcohols used in mouthwash, cosmetics, pharmaceuticals, hand sanitizers, disinfectants, and cleaners for health, home, and beauty markets; grain neutral spirits used in alcoholic beverages and vinegar, as well as corn germ used in corn oils in the food and beverage markets; alcohols and other products for paint applications and fertilizers in the industrial and agriculture markets; and essential ingredients include dried yeast, corn protein meal, corn protein feed, distiller's grains, and liquid feed for commercial animal feed and pet food applications, as well as yeast for human consumption. The company also provides fuel-grade ethanol used as transportation fuel and distillers corn oil used as a biodiesel feedstock, as well as fuel-grade ethanol produced by third parties. In addition, it offers transportation, storage, and delivery services through third-party service providers. The company sells ethanol to integrated oil companies and gasoline marketers; essential ingredient feed products to dairies and feedlots; and corn oil to poultry, renewable diesel, and biodiesel customers. It operates alcohol production facilities. The company was formerly known as Pacific Ethanol, Inc. and changed its name to Alto Ingredients, Inc. in January 2021. Alto Ingredients, Inc. was founded in 2003 and is headquartered in Pekin, Illinois.

About Insynergy Products

Starco Brands, Inc. markets consumer products through retail and online in the United States. It offers products in various categories, including household cleaning, DIY/Hardware, paints, coatings and adhesives, household, hair care, disinfectants, automotive, motorcycle, arts and crafts, personal care cosmetics, personal care FDA, sun care, food, cooking oils, beverages, and spirits and wine under the Winona, Whipshots, Skylar, Soylent, and Art of Sport brands. The company was formerly known as Insynergy Products, Inc. and changed its name to Starco Brands, Inc. in September 2017. Starco Brands, Inc. was incorporated in 2010 and is based in Santa Monica, California.