Ascent Industries (ACNT) and The Competition Critical Contrast

Insider and Institutional Ownership

26.1% of Ascent Industries shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 73.4% of shares of all “MACH – GENL INDL” companies are owned by institutional investors. 9.3% of Ascent Industries shares are owned by insiders. Comparatively, 6.2% of shares of all “MACH – GENL INDL” companies are owned by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, large money managers and hedge funds believe a stock will outperform the market over the long term.

Risk & Volatility

Ascent Industries has a beta of 0.6, suggesting that its share price is 40% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Ascent Industries’ peers have a beta of 11.39, suggesting that their average share price is 1,039% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Profitability

This table compares Ascent Industries and its peers’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Ascent Industries	-6.56%	-1.78%	-1.12%
Ascent Industries Competitors	8.57%	12.70%	7.08%

Valuation and Earnings

This table compares Ascent Industries and its peers gross revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Net Income	Price/Earnings Ratio
Ascent Industries	$177.87 million	-$13.60 million	-12.55
Ascent Industries Competitors	$4.73 billion	$501.64 million	19.20

Ascent Industries’ peers have higher revenue and earnings than Ascent Industries. Ascent Industries is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than its peers, indicating that it is currently more affordable than other companies in its industry.

Summary

Ascent Industries peers beat Ascent Industries on 8 of the 9 factors compared.

Ascent Industries Company Profile

Ascent Industries Co. an industrials company, produces and distributes stainless steel pipe and tube and specialty chemicals in the United States and internationally. The company operates through two segments, Tubular Products and Specialty Chemicals. It manufactures welded pipes and tubes, primarily from stainless steel, duplex, and nickel alloys; and ornamental stainless steel tubes for automotive, commercial transportation, marine, food services, construction, furniture, healthcare, and other industries. The company also produces defoamers, surfactants, and lubricating agents for end users, including companies that supply agrochemical paper, metal working, coatings, water treatment, paint, mining, oil and gas, and janitorial and other applications. In addition, it provides contract manufacturing services, as well as operates as a multi-purpose plant to process various difficult to handle materials, including flammable solvents, viscous liquids, and granular solids. The company was formerly known as Synalloy Corporation and changed its name to Ascent Industries Co. in August 2022. Ascent Industries Co. was founded in 1945 and is based in Oak Brook, Illinois.