ESS Tech (NYSE:GWH) & GrafTech International (NYSE:EAF) Head-To-Head Survey

ESS Tech (NYSE:GWH) and GrafTech International (NYSE:EAF) are both small-cap industrials companies, but which is the superior investment? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their analyst recommendations, earnings, institutional ownership, valuation, profitability, risk and dividends.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a breakdown of current ratings for ESS Tech and GrafTech International, as reported by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
ESS Tech	1	1	1	0	2.00
GrafTech International	3	3	0	0	1.50

ESS Tech currently has a consensus target price of $2.00, indicating a potential upside of 173.60%. GrafTech International has a consensus target price of $10.67, indicating a potential upside of 38.35%. Given ESS Tech’s stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, equities analysts plainly believe ESS Tech is more favorable than GrafTech International.

Insider & Institutional Ownership

46.8% of ESS Tech shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 92.8% of GrafTech International shares are owned by institutional investors. 1.4% of ESS Tech shares are owned by insiders. Comparatively, 1.2% of GrafTech International shares are owned by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, hedge funds and endowments believe a company will outperform the market over the long term.

Valuation & Earnings

This table compares ESS Tech and GrafTech International”s revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
ESS Tech	$1.58 million	13.60	-$63.44 million	($3.37)	-0.22
GrafTech International	$504.13 million	0.40	-$219.84 million	($6.80)	-1.13

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

Profitability

This table compares ESS Tech and GrafTech International’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
ESS Tech	N/A	-1,251.69%	-139.79%
GrafTech International	-34.58%	N/A	-17.50%

Risk and Volatility

ESS Tech has a beta of 1.41, meaning that its share price is 41% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, GrafTech International has a beta of 1.83, meaning that its share price is 83% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Summary

ESS Tech beats GrafTech International on 9 of the 14 factors compared between the two stocks.

About ESS Tech

ESS Tech, Inc., an energy storage company, designs and produces iron flow batteries for commercial and utility-scale energy storage applications worldwide. It offers energy storage products, which include Energy Warehouse, a behind-the-meter solution; and Energy Center, a front-of-the-meter solution. The company was founded in 2011 and is headquartered in Wilsonville, Oregon.

About GrafTech International

GrafTech International Ltd. research, develops, manufactures, and sells graphite and carbon-based solutions worldwide. The company offers graphite electrodes to produce electric arc furnace steel and other ferrous and non-ferrous metals; and petroleum needle coke, a crystalline form of carbon used in the production of graphite electrodes and synthetic graphite. It sells its products primarily through direct sales force, independent sales representatives, and distributors. GrafTech International Ltd. was founded in 1886 and is headquartered in Brooklyn Heights, Ohio.