Critical Comparison: Venator Materials (NYSE:VNTRQ) and Hydromer (OTCMKTS:HYDI)

Profitability

This table compares Venator Materials and Hydromer’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Venator Materials	-18.19%	-47.15%	-8.22%
Hydromer	N/A	N/A	N/A

Insider & Institutional Ownership

0.5% of Venator Materials shares are owned by institutional investors. 41.7% of Venator Materials shares are owned by company insiders. Comparatively, 41.5% of Hydromer shares are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, hedge funds and large money managers believe a stock will outperform the market over the long term.

Valuation and Earnings

This table compares Venator Materials and Hydromer”s top-line revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Venator Materials	$2.17 billion	0.98	-$188.00 million	($3.28)	-6.10
Hydromer	N/A	N/A	N/A	($0.06)	-1.20

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

Summary

Hydromer beats Venator Materials on 5 of the 8 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Venator Materials

Venator Materials PLC, together with its subsidiaries, manufactures and markets chemical products in the United Kingdom and internationally. It operates in two segments, Titanium Dioxide and Performance Additives. The Titanium Dioxide segment offers titanium dioxide (TiO2), such as rutile, anatase, and ultrafine TiO2 products for use in coatings, printing inks, PVC window frames, plastic masterbatches, cosmetics, pharmaceuticals, food, polyester and polyamide fibers, catalysts, and cosmetics products. The Performance Additives segment provides barium and zinc additives for use in coatings, films, and paper and glass fiber reinforced plastics; and colored inorganic pigments comprising iron oxides, ultramarines, specialty inorganic chemicals, and driers for construction, coatings, plastics, cosmetics, inks, catalyst, and laminates. This segment also offers wood protection chemicals for use in residential and commercial applications to prolong the life through protection from decay, fungal, and insect attack; timber treatment chemicals for use in decking, fencing, and other residential outdoor wood structures; and industrial construction products for use in telephone poles, and salt water piers and pilings. The company was incorporated in 2017 and is based in Stockton-On-Tees, the United Kingdom. On May 14, 2023, Venator Materials PLC, along with its affiliates filed a voluntary petition for reorganization under Chapter 11 in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of Texas.

About Hydromer

Hydromer, Inc. invents, develops, patents, licenses, manufactures, and sells hydrophilic polymer-based products and services in the United States and internationally. The company operates in two segments, Polymer Research and Medical Products. It offers medical coatings and services; medical hydrogel; cosmetic intermediaries; and anti-fog/anti-frost condensation control coating products. The company also provides cosmetics and personal care products, and watercraft hulls coating products; and engineering and contract coating services. It serves the medical, cosmetics, animal health, and industrial fields. Hydromer, Inc. was founded in 1980 and is based in Branchburg, New Jersey.