Head to Head Comparison: BioLargo (NASDAQ:BLGO) & Westlake (NYSE:WLK)

Westlake (NYSE:WLK) and BioLargo (NASDAQ:BLGO) are both materials companies, but which is the superior business? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their analyst recommendations, profitability, earnings, institutional ownership, valuation, dividends and risk.

Insider and Institutional Ownership

28.4% of Westlake shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 0.0% of BioLargo shares are held by institutional investors. 1.4% of Westlake shares are held by insiders. Comparatively, 19.3% of BioLargo shares are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, endowments and large money managers believe a stock will outperform the market over the long term.

Valuation & Earnings

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

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Westlake	$11.17 billion	0.86	-$1.51 billion	($9.58)	-7.83
BioLargo	$12.23 million	2.81	-$3.50 million	($0.05)	-2.09

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

Profitability

This table compares Westlake and BioLargo’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Westlake	-10.94%	0.93%	0.44%
BioLargo	-11.45%	-39.90%	-22.06%

Analyst Recommendations

This is a summary of current recommendations for Westlake and BioLargo, as reported by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Westlake	2	10	3	0	2.07
BioLargo	0	0	0	0	0.00

Westlake presently has a consensus price target of $93.92, indicating a potential upside of 25.22%. Given Westlake’s stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, research analysts clearly believe Westlake is more favorable than BioLargo.

Risk & Volatility

Westlake has a beta of 0.63, meaning that its share price is 37% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, BioLargo has a beta of -0.13, meaning that its share price is 113% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Summary

Westlake beats BioLargo on 10 of the 14 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Westlake

Westlake Corporation engages in the manufacture and marketing of performance and essential materials, and housing and infrastructure products in the United States, Canada, Germany, China, Mexico, Brazil, France, Italy, Taiwan, and internationally. The company operates through two segments: Performance and Essential Materials and Housing and Infrastructure Products. The Performance and Essential Materials segment offers ethylene, polyethylene, styrene, chlorinated derivative products, ethylene dichloride, vinyl chloride monomer, polyvinyl chloride (PVC), epoxy specialty resins, and base epoxy resins and intermediaries, as well as chlor-alkali, such as chlorine and caustic soda. The Housing and Infrastructure Products segment provides residential PVC sidings; PVC trim and mouldings; architectural stone veneers; windows; PVC decking; PVC films for various inflatables, wallcovering, and tape and roofing applications; polymer composite and cement roof tiles; PVC pipes and fittings for various water, sewer, electrical, and industrial applications; PVC compounds used in various housing, medical, and automobile products; and consumer and commercial products, such as landscape edging; industrial, home, and office matting; marine dock edging; and masonry joint controls. It offers its products to chemical processors, plastics fabricators, small construction contractors, municipalities, and supply warehouses for use in various consumer and industrial markets, including residential construction, flexible and rigid packaging, automotive products, healthcare products, water treatment, wind turbines, and coatings, as well as other durable and non-durable goods. The company was formerly known as Westlake Chemical Corporation and changed its name to Westlake Corporation in February 2022. Westlake Corporation was founded in 1986 and is headquartered in Houston, Texas. Westlake Corporation operates as a subsidiary of TTWF LP.

About BioLargo

BioLargo, Inc. invents, develops, and commercializes various platform technologies. Its technologies solve challenging environmental problems comprising per – and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) water contamination, advanced water and wastewater treatment, industrial odor and volatile organic compounds control, air quality control, infection control, and myriad environmental remediation. The company provides full-service environmental engineering services. BioLargo, Inc. was incorporated in 1991 and is based in Westminster, California.