Ascent Industries (NASDAQ:ACNT – Get Free Report) and Scotts Miracle-Gro (NYSE:SMG – Get Free Report) are both materials companies, but which is the better business? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their valuation, institutional ownership, risk, dividends, analyst recommendations, profitability and earnings.
Volatility & Risk
Ascent Industries has a beta of 0.49, indicating that its share price is 51% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Scotts Miracle-Gro has a beta of 1.83, indicating that its share price is 83% more volatile than the S&P 500.
Analyst Ratings
This is a summary of current recommendations for Ascent Industries and Scotts Miracle-Gro, as provided by MarketBeat.com.
| Sell Ratings | Hold Ratings | Buy Ratings | Strong Buy Ratings | Rating Score | |
| Ascent Industries | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1.00 |
| Scotts Miracle-Gro | 0 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 2.50 |
Earnings & Valuation
This table compares Ascent Industries and Scotts Miracle-Gro”s top-line revenue, earnings per share and valuation.
| Gross Revenue | Price/Sales Ratio | Net Income | Earnings Per Share | Price/Earnings Ratio | |
| Ascent Industries | $74.94 million | 1.77 | $870,000.00 | ($0.45) | -32.68 |
| Scotts Miracle-Gro | $3.41 billion | 0.90 | $145.20 million | $1.15 | 45.97 |
Scotts Miracle-Gro has higher revenue and earnings than Ascent Industries. Ascent Industries is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Scotts Miracle-Gro, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.
Profitability
This table compares Ascent Industries and Scotts Miracle-Gro’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.
| Net Margins | Return on Equity | Return on Assets | |
| Ascent Industries | -5.31% | -2.72% | -2.07% |
| Scotts Miracle-Gro | 2.19% | -81.90% | 8.97% |
Insider & Institutional Ownership
26.1% of Ascent Industries shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 74.1% of Scotts Miracle-Gro shares are held by institutional investors. 7.5% of Ascent Industries shares are held by company insiders. Comparatively, 24.4% of Scotts Miracle-Gro shares are held by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, hedge funds and endowments believe a company will outperform the market over the long term.
Summary
Scotts Miracle-Gro beats Ascent Industries on 12 of the 14 factors compared between the two stocks.
About Ascent Industries
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.
About Scotts Miracle-Gro
The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company, together with its subsidiaries, manufactures, markets, and sells products for lawn, garden care, and indoor and hydroponic gardening in the United States and internationally. It operates through three segments: U.S. Consumer, Hawthorne, and Other. The company provides lawn care products, comprising lawn fertilizers, grass seed products, spreaders, and other durable products, as well as lawn-related weed, pest, and disease control products; and gardening and landscape products, which include water-soluble and continuous-release plant foods, potting mixes, garden soils, mulches and ground cover products, plant-related pest and disease control products, organic garden products, and live goods and seeding solutions. It offers hydroponic products that help users to grow plants, flowers, and vegetables using little or no soil; lighting systems and components for use in hydroponic and indoor gardening applications; insect, rodent, and weed control products for home areas; and non-selective weed killer products. The company sells its products under the Scotts, Turf Builder, EZ Seed, PatchMaster, Thick'R Lawn, GrubEx, EdgeGuard, Handy Green II, Miracle-Gro, LiquaFeed, Shake N Feed, Hyponex, Earthgro, Nature Scapes, Ortho, Miracle-Gro Performance Organics, Miracle-Gro Organic Choice, Whitney Farms, EcoScraps, Mother Earth, Botanicare, General Hydroponics, Cyco, Gavita, Agrolux, HydroLogic Purification System, Gro Pro, AeroGarden, Titan, Tomcat, Ortho Weed B Gon, Roundup, Groundclear, and Alchemist brands. It serves home centers, mass merchandisers, warehouse clubs, large hardware chains, independent hardware stores, nurseries, garden centers, e-commerce platforms, and food and drug stores, as well as indoor gardening and hydroponic distributors, retailers, and growers. The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company was founded in 1868 and is headquartered in Marysville, Ohio.
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