Perimeter Solutions (NYSE:PRM) vs. Element Solutions (NYSE:ESI) Head to Head Survey

Element Solutions (NYSE:ESI) and Perimeter Solutions (NYSE:PRM) are both mid-cap basic materials companies, but which is the superior stock? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their institutional ownership, analyst recommendations, dividends, profitability, valuation, risk and earnings.

Earnings & Valuation

This table compares Element Solutions and Perimeter Solutions”s revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Element Solutions	$2.55 billion	3.58	$190.80 million	$0.62	60.43
Perimeter Solutions	$652.86 million	8.58	-$206.37 million	($1.34)	-25.63

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

Volatility & Risk

Element Solutions has a beta of 1.23, meaning that its share price is 23% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Perimeter Solutions has a beta of 1.9, meaning that its share price is 90% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Institutional and Insider Ownership

92.3% of Element Solutions shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 89.9% of Perimeter Solutions shares are held by institutional investors. 6.2% of Element Solutions shares are held by insiders. Comparatively, 13.1% of Perimeter Solutions shares are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, hedge funds and large money managers believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Analyst Ratings

This is a summary of current ratings and target prices for Element Solutions and Perimeter Solutions, as reported by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Element Solutions	0	3	5	3	3.00
Perimeter Solutions	1	1	4	0	2.50

Element Solutions presently has a consensus price target of $43.00, indicating a potential upside of 14.76%. Perimeter Solutions has a consensus price target of $43.00, indicating a potential upside of 25.21%. Given Perimeter Solutions’ higher probable upside, analysts clearly believe Perimeter Solutions is more favorable than Element Solutions.

Profitability

This table compares Element Solutions and Perimeter Solutions’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Element Solutions	5.32%	14.19%	7.30%
Perimeter Solutions	-26.93%	18.29%	7.73%

Summary

Element Solutions beats Perimeter Solutions on 9 of the 15 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Element Solutions

Element Solutions Inc operates as a specialty chemicals company in the United States, China, and internationally. The company operates in two segments, Electronics, and Industrial & Specialty. The Electronics segment researches, formulates, and sells specialty chemicals and materials for various types of electronics hardware products. This segment also supplies surface mount technologies, fluxes, thermal management material, coatings, and other attachment materials; chemical formulations to the electronics industry; and advanced copper interconnects, die attachment, sintered silver material, adhesives, wafer bump processes, and photomask technologies for semiconductor industry. It primarily serves mobile communications, computers, automobiles, and aerospace equipment industries. The Industrial & Specialty segment provides industrial solutions, which include chemical systems that protect and decorate metal and plastic surfaces; consumable chemicals that enable printing image transfer on flexible packaging materials; and chemistries used in water-based hydraulic control fluids for offshore energy production applications. It serves aerospace, automotive, construction, consumer electronics, consumer packaged goods, and oil and gas production end markets. The company was formerly known as Platform Specialty Products Corporation and changed its name to Element Solutions Inc in January 2019. Element Solutions Inc was founded in 1785 and is headquartered in Fort Lauderdale, Florida.

About Perimeter Solutions

Perimeter Solutions, SA manufactures and supplies firefighting products and lubricant additives in the United States, Germany, and internationally. It operates in two segments, Fire Safety and Specialty Products. The Fire Safety segment provides fire retardants and firefighting foams, as well as specialized equipment and services for federal, state, provincial, local/municipal, and commercial customers. The Specialty Products segment produces and sells Phosphorus Pentasulfide, which is primarily used in the preparation of lubricant additives, including a family of compounds called Zinc Dialkyldithiophosphates. The company offers its products under the PHOS-CHEK, FIRE-TROL, AUXQUIMIA, and SOLBERG brands. Perimeter Solutions, SA was founded in 1963 and is headquartered in Clayton, Missouri.