Critical Survey: Verde Clean Fuels (NASDAQ:VGAS) versus Westlake Chemical Partners (NYSE:WLKP)

Westlake Chemical Partners (NYSE:WLKP) and Verde Clean Fuels (NASDAQ:VGAS) are both small-cap basic materials companies, but which is the better business? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their valuation, dividends, institutional ownership, analyst recommendations, risk, earnings and profitability.

Insider & Institutional Ownership

78.3% of Westlake Chemical Partners shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 15.6% of Verde Clean Fuels shares are held by institutional investors. 1.1% of Westlake Chemical Partners shares are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, hedge funds and endowments believe a stock will outperform the market over the long term.

Valuation & Earnings

This table compares Westlake Chemical Partners and Verde Clean Fuels’ gross revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Westlake Chemical Partners	$1.19 billion	0.68	$54.28 million	$1.54	14.90
Verde Clean Fuels	N/A	N/A	-$2.74 million	($0.49)	-8.94

Westlake Chemical Partners has higher revenue and earnings than Verde Clean Fuels. Verde Clean Fuels 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.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a summary of recent ratings and price targets for Westlake Chemical Partners and Verde Clean Fuels, as provided by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Westlake Chemical Partners	0	0	0	0	N/A
Verde Clean Fuels	0	0	0	0	N/A

Profitability

This table compares Westlake Chemical Partners and Verde Clean Fuels’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Westlake Chemical Partners	4.64%	6.32%	4.10%
Verde Clean Fuels	N/A	-9.83%	-8.48%

Volatility & Risk

Westlake Chemical Partners has a beta of 1.12, suggesting that its share price is 12% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Verde Clean Fuels has a beta of -0.64, suggesting that its share price is 164% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Summary

Westlake Chemical Partners beats Verde Clean Fuels on 9 of the 9 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 Verde Clean Fuels

Verde Clean Fuels, Inc., operates as a clean energy technology company in the United States. It specializes in the conversion of synthesis gas, or syngas, derived from feedstocks, such as biomass, natural gas, and other feedstocks into liquid hydrocarbons that can be used as gasoline through proprietary liquid fuels technology. Verde Clean Fuels, Inc. was founded in 2007 and is headquartered in Houston, Texas.