Westlake Chemical Partners (NYSE:WLKP – Get Free Report) and American Vanguard (NYSE:AVD – Get Free Report) are both small-cap basic materials companies, but which is the better investment? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their dividends, institutional ownership, valuation, profitability, earnings, risk and analyst recommendations.
Institutional & Insider Ownership
78.3% of Westlake Chemical Partners shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 79.0% of American Vanguard shares are held by institutional investors. 1.1% of Westlake Chemical Partners shares are held by insiders. Comparatively, 7.6% of American Vanguard shares are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, large money managers and endowments believe a company will outperform the market over the long term.
Analyst Ratings
This is a summary of recent recommendations for Westlake Chemical Partners and American Vanguard, as reported by MarketBeat.
| Sell Ratings | Hold Ratings | Buy Ratings | Strong Buy Ratings | Rating Score | |
| Westlake Chemical Partners | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2.00 |
| American Vanguard | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2.00 |
Profitability
This table compares Westlake Chemical Partners and American Vanguard’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.
| Net Margins | Return on Equity | Return on Assets | |
| Westlake Chemical Partners | 4.17% | 5.99% | 3.74% |
| American Vanguard | -9.68% | -5.13% | -1.76% |
Valuation & Earnings
This table compares Westlake Chemical Partners and American Vanguard”s top-line revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.
| Gross Revenue | Price/Sales Ratio | Net Income | Earnings Per Share | Price/Earnings Ratio | |
| Westlake Chemical Partners | $1.17 billion | 0.69 | $48.70 million | $1.38 | 16.44 |
| American Vanguard | $515.11 million | 0.13 | -$49.88 million | ($1.75) | -1.34 |
Westlake Chemical Partners has higher revenue and earnings than American Vanguard. American Vanguard is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Westlake Chemical Partners, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.
Dividends
Westlake Chemical Partners pays an annual dividend of $1.89 per share and has a dividend yield of 8.3%. American Vanguard pays an annual dividend of $0.03 per share and has a dividend yield of 1.3%. Westlake Chemical Partners pays out 137.0% of its earnings in the form of a dividend, suggesting it may not have sufficient earnings to cover its dividend payment in the future. American Vanguard pays out -1.7% of its earnings in the form of a dividend.
Volatility and Risk
Westlake Chemical Partners has a beta of 0.57, meaning that its share price is 43% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, American Vanguard has a beta of 1.42, meaning that its share price is 42% more volatile than the S&P 500.
Summary
Westlake Chemical Partners beats American Vanguard on 9 of the 15 factors compared between the two stocks.
About Westlake Chemical Partners
Westlake Chemical Partners LP acquires, develops, and operates ethylene production facilities and related assets in the United States. The company’s ethylene production facilities primarily convert ethane into ethylene. It also sells ethylene co-products, such as propylene, crude butadiene, pyrolysis gasoline, and hydrogen directly to third parties on either a spot or contract basis. Westlake Chemical Partners GP LLC serves as the general partner of the company. Westlake Chemical Partners LP was founded in 1991 and is headquartered in Houston, Texas.
About American Vanguard
American Vanguard Corporation, through its subsidiaries, develops, manufactures, and markets specialty chemicals for agricultural, commercial, and consumer uses in the United States and internationally. It manufactures and formulates chemicals, including insecticides, fungicides, herbicides, soil health, plant nutrition, molluscicides, growth regulators, soil fumigants, and biorationals in liquid, powder, and granular forms for crops, turf and ornamental plants, and human and animal health protection. The company also markets, sells, and distributes end-use chemical and biological products for crop applications; and distributes chemicals for turf and ornamental markets. It distributes its products through national distribution companies, and buying groups or co-operatives; and through sales offices, sales force executives, sales agents, and wholly owned distributors. American Vanguard Corporation was incorporated in 1969 and is headquartered in Newport Beach, California.
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