Critical Contrast: Ecovyst (NYSE:ECVT) versus Avient (NYSE:AVNT)

Avient (NYSE:AVNT) and Ecovyst (NYSE:ECVT) are both materials companies, but which is the superior business? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their valuation, dividends, risk, institutional ownership, earnings, profitability and analyst recommendations.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a breakdown of current recommendations for Avient and Ecovyst, as reported by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Avient	0	4	3	0	2.43
Ecovyst	1	1	4	1	2.71

Avient currently has a consensus price target of $48.75, suggesting a potential upside of 7.32%. Ecovyst has a consensus price target of $14.00, suggesting a potential upside of 29.21%. Given Ecovyst’s stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, analysts plainly believe Ecovyst is more favorable than Avient.

Earnings & Valuation

This table compares Avient and Ecovyst”s gross revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Avient	$3.42 billion	1.22	$81.90 million	$1.95	23.29
Ecovyst	$972.98 million	1.21	-$71.13 million	$0.32	33.86

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

Risk and Volatility

Avient has a beta of 1.23, indicating that its stock price is 23% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Ecovyst has a beta of 1.08, indicating that its stock price is 8% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Profitability

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

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Avient	5.27%	12.17%	4.95%
Ecovyst	3.72%	14.38%	6.38%

Institutional & Insider Ownership

95.5% of Avient shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 86.7% of Ecovyst shares are held by institutional investors. 0.9% of Avient shares are held by company insiders. Comparatively, 1.8% of Ecovyst shares are held by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, large money managers and endowments believe a stock will outperform the market over the long term.

Summary

Ecovyst beats Avient on 8 of the 15 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Avient

Avient Corporation is a global provider of specialty polymer materials, services and solutions. Its offerings include colorants, additives, specialty engineered compounds and other materials designed to enhance the performance, appearance or processing of plastics and other polymers. The company serves customers across industries such as packaging, healthcare, transportation, consumer products and construction. Avient’s products include color and additive concentrates, specialty thermoplastic compounds, and high-performance materials, including advanced fibers and composites.

About Ecovyst

Ecovyst Inc. is a specialty chemicals company that supplies catalysts, materials and services to customers in the refining, chemicals and other industrial sectors. Its businesses include sulfuric acid services and catalyst technologies. Through its Ecoservices business, Ecovyst regenerates spent sulfuric acid for reuse and supplies virgin sulfuric acid. These services support industrial processes, including those used in petroleum refining and chemical manufacturing. The company’s catalyst technologies include zeolite catalysts and silica-based materials used in refining and chemical applications.