BioLargo (NASDAQ:BLGO) vs. Ingevity (NYSE:NGVT) Critical Review
by Michael Walen · The Markets DailyBioLargo (NASDAQ:BLGO – Get Free Report) and Ingevity (NYSE:NGVT – Get Free Report) are both small-cap construction companies, but which is the superior investment? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their valuation, dividends, risk, institutional ownership, analyst recommendations, earnings and profitability.
Insider and Institutional Ownership
0.0% of BioLargo shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 91.6% of Ingevity shares are owned by institutional investors. 20.3% of BioLargo shares are owned by company insiders. Comparatively, 1.1% of Ingevity shares are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, large money managers and endowments believe a stock will outperform the market over the long term.
Profitability
This table compares BioLargo and Ingevity’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.
| Net Margins | Return on Equity | Return on Assets | |
| BioLargo | -16.53% | -58.35% | -32.12% |
| Ingevity | -27.85% | 19.59% | 4.22% |
Volatility & Risk
BioLargo has a beta of 0.18, indicating that its share price is 82% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Ingevity has a beta of 1.62, indicating that its share price is 62% more volatile than the S&P 500.
Analyst Recommendations
This is a summary of recent recommendations and price targets for BioLargo and Ingevity, as reported by MarketBeat.com.
| Sell Ratings | Hold Ratings | Buy Ratings | Strong Buy Ratings | Rating Score | |
| BioLargo | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | N/A |
| Ingevity | 0 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 2.50 |
Ingevity has a consensus price target of $51.00, indicating a potential upside of 61.44%. Given Ingevity’s higher probable upside, analysts clearly believe Ingevity is more favorable than BioLargo.
Earnings and Valuation
This table compares BioLargo and Ingevity”s gross revenue, earnings per share and valuation.
| Gross Revenue | Price/Sales Ratio | Net Income | Earnings Per Share | Price/Earnings Ratio | |
| BioLargo | $12.23 million | 5.72 | -$3.50 million | ($0.02) | -11.63 |
| Ingevity | $1.55 billion | 0.74 | -$112.98 million | ($3.11) | -10.16 |
BioLargo has higher earnings, but lower revenue than Ingevity. BioLargo is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Ingevity, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.
Summary
Ingevity beats BioLargo on 8 of the 13 factors compared between the two stocks.
About BioLargo
BioLargo, Inc. invents, develops, and commercializes various platform technologies. Its technologies solve challenging environmental problems comprising per – and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) water contamination, advanced water and wastewater treatment, industrial odor and volatile organic compounds control, air quality control, infection control, and myriad environmental remediation. The company provides full-service environmental engineering services. BioLargo, Inc. was incorporated in 1991 and is based in Westminster, California.
About Ingevity
Ingevity Corporation manufactures and sells activated carbon products, derivative specialty chemicals, and engineered polymers in North America, the Asia Pacific, Europe, the Middle East, Africa, and South America. It operates through three segments: Performance Materials, Performance Chemicals, and Advanced Polymer Technologies. The Performance Materials segment engineers, manufactures, and sells hardwood-based and chemically activated carbon products for use in gasoline vapor emission control systems in cars, motorcycles, trucks, and boats. This segment also produces other activated carbon products for food, water, beverage, and chemical purification applications. The Performance Chemicals segment consists of road technologies and industrial specialties. This segment's products are used in pavement construction, pavement preservation, pavement reconstruction and recycling, road markings, agrochemical dispersants, paper chemicals, and other industrial uses. The Advanced Polymer Technologies segment produces caprolactone and caprolactone-based specialty polymers for use in coatings, resins, elastomers, adhesives, bioplastics, and medical devices. It serves automotive parts and components manufacturers through sales representatives and distributors. The company was formerly known as WestRock Company, Specialty Chemicals Business and changed its name to Ingevity Corporation in September 2015. Ingevity Corporation was founded in 1964 and is headquartered in North Charleston, South Carolina.