Analyzing Luxfer (NYSE:LXFR) & ClearSign Technologies (NASDAQ:CLIR)

Luxfer (NYSE:LXFR) and ClearSign Technologies (NASDAQ:CLIR) are both small-cap industrials companies, but which is the better business? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their valuation, dividends, analyst recommendations, risk, earnings, profitability and institutional ownership.

Analyst Ratings

This is a breakdown of current ratings for Luxfer and ClearSign Technologies, as provided by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Luxfer	0	2	0	1	2.67
ClearSign Technologies	1	0	1	0	2.00

ClearSign Technologies has a consensus price target of $20.00, suggesting a potential upside of 716.33%. Given ClearSign Technologies’ higher possible upside, analysts plainly believe ClearSign Technologies is more favorable than Luxfer.

Profitability

This table compares Luxfer and ClearSign Technologies’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Luxfer	2.20%	12.22%	7.23%
ClearSign Technologies	-96.07%	-58.08%	-44.61%

Insider and Institutional Ownership

90.8% of Luxfer shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 24.0% of ClearSign Technologies shares are owned by institutional investors. 2.0% of Luxfer shares are owned by insiders. Comparatively, 5.2% of ClearSign Technologies shares are owned by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, hedge funds and large money managers believe a company will outperform the market over the long term.

Risk and Volatility

Luxfer has a beta of 1.12, indicating that its stock price is 12% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, ClearSign Technologies has a beta of 1.31, indicating that its stock price is 31% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Earnings & Valuation

This table compares Luxfer and ClearSign Technologies”s revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Luxfer	$384.60 million	1.21	$7.70 million	$0.30	57.48
ClearSign Technologies	$5.23 million	3.19	-$5.50 million	($0.91)	-2.69

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

Summary

Luxfer beats ClearSign Technologies on 10 of the 15 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Luxfer

Luxfer Holdings PLC, together with its subsidiaries, designs, manufactures, and supplies high-performance materials, components, and high-pressure gas containment devices for defense and first response, healthcare, transportation, and general industrial applications. The company operates through three segments: Elektron, Gas Cylinders, and graphic Arts. The Elektron segment focuses on specialty materials based primarily on magnesium and zirconium. This segment also provides magnesium alloys for use in aerospace, healthcare, and oil and gas applications; magnesium powders for use in countermeasure flares, as well as heater meals; and zirconium-based materials and oxides used as catalysts and in the manufacture of advanced ceramics, fiber-optic fuel cells, pharmaceuticals, and other performance products. The Gas Cylinders segment manufactures and markets specialized products using carbon composites and aluminum alloys, including pressurized cylinders for use in various applications comprising self-contained breathing apparatus (SCBA) for firefighters, containment of oxygen, and other medical gases for healthcare, alternative fuel vehicles, and general industrial applications. The Graphic Art segments provides magnesium photo-engraving plates, engraving metals, and etching chemicals. This segment also offers magnesium, copper, and zinc photo-engraving plates for graphic arts and luxury packaging; developer solutions; and solid wrought magnesium slab and sheet. Luxfer Holdings PLC has operations in the United States, the United Kingdom, Japan, Germany, Canada, rest of Europe, the Asia Pacific, and internationally. The company was founded in 1898 and is headquartered in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.

About ClearSign Technologies

ClearSign Technologies Corporation designs and develops products and technologies to enhance emission and operational performance, energy efficiency, emission reduction, safety, and overall cost-effectiveness of industrial and commercial systems in the United States, the People's Republic of China, and Hong Kong. The company's technologies include ClearSign core burner technology consists of an industrial burner body and a downstream porous ceramic or metal flame stabilizing structure; ClearSign core process burner technology that provides a direct burner replacement for traditional refinery process heaters; ClearSign core boiler burner technology; ClearSign core flaring burners that can be used individually, or in combination, to provide a flare product with extremely low nitrogen oxide emissions; and ClearSign eye flame sensor, an electrical flame sensor for industrial applications. It serves energy, institutional, commercial and industrial boiler, chemical, and petrochemical industries. The company was formerly known as ClearSign Combustion Corporation and changed its name ClearSign Technologies Corporation in November 2019. ClearSign Technologies Corporation was incorporated in 2008 and is headquartered in Tulsa, Oklahoma.