ARQ (ARQ) and Its Competitors Critical Review

ARQ (NASDAQ:ARQ) is one of 18 public companies in the “Miscellaneous chemical products” industry, but how does it weigh in compared to its rivals? We will compare ARQ to related companies based on the strength of its earnings, dividends, institutional ownership, valuation, profitability, risk and analyst recommendations.

Insider & Institutional Ownership

18.5% of ARQ shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 64.8% of shares of all “Miscellaneous chemical products” companies are held by institutional investors. 22.2% of ARQ shares are held by insiders. Comparatively, 15.6% of shares of all “Miscellaneous chemical products” companies 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.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a summary of recent ratings for ARQ and its rivals, as provided by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
ARQ	0	0	0	0	N/A
ARQ Competitors	43	370	337	9	2.41

As a group, “Miscellaneous chemical products” companies have a potential upside of 24.83%. Given ARQ’s rivals higher probable upside, analysts plainly believe ARQ has less favorable growth aspects than its rivals.

Profitability

This table compares ARQ and its rivals’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
ARQ	-12.35%	-8.35%	-6.16%
ARQ Competitors	2.00%	19.11%	4.62%

Risk and Volatility

ARQ has a beta of 1.44, suggesting that its stock price is 44% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, ARQ’s rivals have a beta of 2.69, suggesting that their average stock price is 169% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Valuation & Earnings

This table compares ARQ and its rivals revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Net Income	Price/Earnings Ratio
ARQ	$99.18 million	-$12.25 million	-13.22
ARQ Competitors	$1.13 billion	$44.23 million	13.14

ARQ’s rivals have higher revenue and earnings than ARQ. ARQ is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than its rivals, indicating that it is currently more affordable than other companies in its industry.

Summary

ARQ rivals beat ARQ on 9 of the 10 factors compared.

ARQ Company Profile

Arq, Inc. produces activated carbon products in North America. The company's products include granular activated carbon, powdered and granular activated carbon, and colloidal carbon products; Arq Powder Wetcake, a fine and low-ash coal waste-derived particle; and additives for air emissions control. Its products are used in various applications, including water treatment, ground water remediation, soil sediments, air emissions, and asphalt additives. The company was formerly known as Advanced Emissions Solutions, Inc. and changed its name to Arq, Inc. in February 2024. Arq, Inc. was founded in 1997 and is headquartered in Greenwood Village, Colorado.