Analyzing Morgan Advanced Materials (OTCMKTS:MCRUF) and Hydrofarm Holdings Group (NASDAQ:HYFM)

Morgan Advanced Materials (OTCMKTS:MCRUF) and Hydrofarm Holdings Group (NASDAQ:HYFM) are both small-cap industrials companies, but which is the superior investment? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their profitability, analyst recommendations, dividends, risk, valuation, earnings and institutional ownership.

Volatility and Risk

Morgan Advanced Materials has a beta of 0.88, suggesting that its share price is 12% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Hydrofarm Holdings Group has a beta of 2.35, suggesting that its share price is 135% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Earnings & Valuation

This table compares Morgan Advanced Materials and Hydrofarm Holdings Group”s gross revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Morgan Advanced Materials	$1.31 billion	0.73	$27.83 million	N/A	N/A
Hydrofarm Holdings Group	$134.25 million	0.05	-$289.79 million	($62.10)	-0.02

Morgan Advanced Materials has higher revenue and earnings than Hydrofarm Holdings Group.

Insider and Institutional Ownership

26.6% of Hydrofarm Holdings Group shares are owned by institutional investors. 14.9% of Hydrofarm Holdings Group 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 Morgan Advanced Materials and Hydrofarm Holdings Group’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Morgan Advanced Materials	N/A	N/A	N/A
Hydrofarm Holdings Group	-267.20%	-2,310.27%	-139.28%

Analyst Recommendations

This is a summary of current recommendations and price targets for Morgan Advanced Materials and Hydrofarm Holdings Group, as reported by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Morgan Advanced Materials	0	1	0	0	2.00
Hydrofarm Holdings Group	1	0	0	0	1.00

Summary

Morgan Advanced Materials beats Hydrofarm Holdings Group on 7 of the 10 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Morgan Advanced Materials

Morgan Advanced Materials plc operates as a materials science and application engineering company primarily the United Kingdom. It serves customers in the industrial, transportation, petrochemical and chemical, energy, semiconductor and electronics, healthcare, and security and defense markets. The company was formerly known as The Morgan Crucible Company plc and changed its name to Morgan Advanced Materials plc in March 2013. Morgan Advanced Materials plc was founded in 1856 and is headquartered in Windsor, the United Kingdom.

About Hydrofarm Holdings Group

Hydrofarm Holdings Group, Inc., together with its subsidiaries, manufactures and distributes controlled environment agriculture (CEA) equipment and supplies in the United States and Canada. The company provides agricultural lighting devices, indoor climate control equipment, and nutrients, as well as plant additives used to grow, farm, and cultivate cannabis, flowers, fruits, plants, vegetables, grains, and herbs in controlled environment. It is also involved in the distribution of CEA equipment and supplies comprising nutrients and fertilizers; grow light systems; horticulture benches and racking systems; heating, ventilation, and air conditioning systems; humidity and carbon dioxide monitors and controllers; water pumps, heaters, chillers, and filters; and various growing media typically made from soil, peat, rock wool or coconut fiber, and others. The company offers its products to specialty hydroponic retailers, commercial resellers and greenhouse builders, garden centers, hardware stores, and e-commerce retailers under the Active Air, Active Aqua, Aurora Peat Products, HEAVY 16, House & Garden, Gaia Green, Grotek, Innovative Growers Equipment, Mad Farmer, Phantom, PHOTOBIO, Procision, Roots Organics, Soul, and SunBlaster brands. It serves its products through a range of commercial and home gardening equipment and supplies retailers. Hydrofarm Holdings Group, Inc. was founded in 1977 and is based in Shoemakersville, Pennsylvania.