Head to Head Comparison: Tronox (NYSE:TROX) & Loop Industries (NASDAQ:LOOP)

Loop Industries (NASDAQ:LOOP) and Tronox (NYSE:TROX) are both small-cap materials companies, but which is the superior investment? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their valuation, profitability, earnings, risk, analyst recommendations, institutional ownership and dividends.

Earnings & Valuation

This table compares Loop Industries and Tronox”s revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Loop Industries	$441,000.00	51.87	-$12.30 million	($0.26)	-1.82
Tronox	$3.06 billion	0.23	-$470.00 million	($3.46)	-1.27

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

Risk and Volatility

Loop Industries has a beta of 1.46, meaning that its share price is 46% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Tronox has a beta of 0.79, meaning that its share price is 21% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Profitability

This table compares Loop Industries and Tronox’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Loop Industries	N/A	N/A	-122.85%
Tronox	-17.96%	-24.34%	-5.51%

Institutional and Insider Ownership

4.9% of Loop Industries shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 73.4% of Tronox shares are owned by institutional investors. 49.7% of Loop Industries shares are owned by insiders. Comparatively, 2.0% of Tronox shares are owned by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, endowments and hedge funds believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a breakdown of current ratings and price targets for Loop Industries and Tronox, as reported by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Loop Industries	1	0	0	0	1.00
Tronox	4	4	2	0	1.80

Tronox has a consensus price target of $6.93, indicating a potential upside of 57.29%. Given Tronox’s stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, analysts plainly believe Tronox is more favorable than Loop Industries.

About Loop Industries

Loop Industries, Inc., a technology company, focuses on depolymerizing waste polyethylene terephthalate PET plastics and polyester fibers, including plastic bottles, packaging, carpets and textiles of any color, transparency and even ocean plastics that have been degraded by the sun and salt, to its base building blocks. Its polymerized monomers into virgin-quality PET resins for use in food-grade plastic packaging, such as plastic bottles for water and carbonated soft drinks, and containers for food and other consumer products; and polyester fibers, including textiles, clothing, and apparel. The company was incorporated in 2010 and is based in Terrebonne, Canada.

About Tronox

Tronox Holdings plc operates as a vertically integrated manufacturer of TiO2 pigment in North America, South and Central America, Europe, the Middle East, Africa, and the Asia Pacific. The company operates titanium-bearing mineral sand mines; and engages in beneficiation and smelting operations. It offers TiO2 pigment; ultrafine specialty TiO2; zircon; feedstock; pig iron; monazite; titanium tetrachloride; and other products. The company’s products are used for the manufacture of paints, coatings, plastics, and paper, as well as various other applications. Tronox Holdings plc is based in Stamford, Connecticut.