Reviewing Shimmick (NASDAQ:SHIM) & Aqua Metals (NASDAQ:AQMS)

Shimmick (NASDAQ:SHIM) and Aqua Metals (NASDAQ:AQMS) are both small-cap business services companies, but which is the superior stock? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their dividends, analyst recommendations, profitability, earnings, risk, institutional ownership and valuation.

Valuation and Earnings

This table compares Shimmick and Aqua Metals”s revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Shimmick	$480.24 million	0.17	-$124.75 million	($1.71)	-1.35
Aqua Metals	N/A	N/A	-$24.55 million	($35.94)	-0.26

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

Analyst Ratings

This is a summary of recent ratings and recommmendations for Shimmick and Aqua Metals, as provided by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Shimmick	1	0	0	0	1.00
Aqua Metals	1	0	1	0	2.00

Aqua Metals has a consensus price target of $30.00, indicating a potential upside of 224.68%. Given Aqua Metals’ stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, analysts clearly believe Aqua Metals is more favorable than Shimmick.

Volatility & Risk

Shimmick has a beta of 0.76, suggesting that its share price is 24% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Aqua Metals has a beta of 0.4, suggesting that its share price is 60% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Institutional & Insider Ownership

6.9% of Shimmick shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 22.0% of Aqua Metals shares are held by institutional investors. 67.1% of Shimmick shares are held by insiders. Comparatively, 8.3% of Aqua Metals shares are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, endowments and large money managers believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Profitability

This table compares Shimmick and Aqua Metals’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Shimmick	-11.21%	N/A	-20.10%
Aqua Metals	N/A	-214.23%	-135.05%

Summary

Aqua Metals beats Shimmick on 7 of the 13 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Shimmick

Shimmick Corporation provides water and other critical infrastructure solutions in the United States. The company undertakes water and wastewater treatment infrastructure; water storage and conveyance, including dams, levees, flood control systems, pump stations, and coastal protection infrastructure; and mass transit, bridges, and military infrastructure projects. It serves federal, state, and local governments. The company was formerly known as SCCI National Holdings, Inc. and changed its name to Shimmick Corporation in September 2023. Shimmick Corporation was founded in 1990 and is headquartered in Irvine, California. Shimmick Corporation operates as a subsidiary of GOHO, LLC.

About Aqua Metals

Aqua Metals, Inc. engages in reinventing metals recycling activities with its patented AquaRefining technology. The company's technology produces metals and alloys that can be returned into the battery manufacturing supply chain markets, as well as sells metals for use in various advanced manufacturing industries. Its AquaRefining, a low-emissions and recycling technology that replaces polluting furnaces and hazardous chemicals with electricity-powered electroplating to recover valuable metals and materials from spent batteries. Aqua Metals, Inc. was incorporated in 2014 and is headquartered in Reno, Nevada.