Comparing Ecolab (NYSE:ECL) & Green Plains (NASDAQ:GPRE)

Ecolab (NYSE:ECL) and Green Plains (NASDAQ:GPRE) are both basic materials companies, but which is the superior investment? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their analyst recommendations, profitability, risk, institutional ownership, dividends, valuation and earnings.

Profitability

This table compares Ecolab and Green Plains’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Ecolab	12.49%	22.55%	8.98%
Green Plains	-8.37%	-16.78%	-8.14%

Earnings & Valuation

This table compares Ecolab and Green Plains”s revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Ecolab	$15.89 billion	4.57	$2.11 billion	$6.96	36.88
Green Plains	$2.46 billion	0.28	-$82.50 million	($2.92)	-3.34

Ecolab has higher revenue and earnings than Green Plains. Green Plains is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Ecolab, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Risk & Volatility

Ecolab has a beta of 0.98, indicating that its share price is 2% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Green Plains has a beta of 1.4, indicating that its share price is 40% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Insider & Institutional Ownership

74.9% of Ecolab shares are owned by institutional investors. 0.5% of Ecolab shares are owned by insiders. Comparatively, 1.0% of Green Plains shares are owned by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, large money managers and hedge funds believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a breakdown of current ratings and price targets for Ecolab and Green Plains, as provided by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Ecolab	0	5	13	3	2.90
Green Plains	2	5	3	1	2.27

Ecolab presently has a consensus target price of $295.14, suggesting a potential upside of 14.99%. Green Plains has a consensus target price of $10.00, suggesting a potential upside of 2.46%. Given Ecolab’s stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, equities analysts clearly believe Ecolab is more favorable than Green Plains.

Summary

Ecolab beats Green Plains on 13 of the 15 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Ecolab

Ecolab Inc. provides water, hygiene, and infection prevention solutions and services in the United States and internationally. The company operates through three segments: Global Industrial; Global Institutional & Specialty; and Global Healthcare & Life Sciences. The Global Industrial segment offers water treatment and process applications, and cleaning and sanitizing solutions to manufacturing, food and beverage processing, transportation, chemical, metals and mining, power generation, pulp and paper, commercial laundry, petroleum, refining, and petrochemical industries. Its Global Institutional & Specialty segment provides specialized cleaning and sanitizing products to the foodservice, hospitality, lodging, government and education, and retail industries. The Global Healthcare & Life Sciences segment offers specialized cleaning and sanitizing products to the healthcare, personal care, and pharmaceutical industries, such as infection prevention and surgical solutions, and end-to-end cleaning and contamination control solutions under the Ecolab, Microtek, and Anios brand names. In addition, the company provides pest elimination services to detect, eliminate, and prevent pests, such as rodents and insects in restaurants, food and beverage processors, hotels, grocery operations, and other commercial segments including education, life sciences, and healthcare customers. Further, it offers colloidal silica for binding and polishing applications in semiconductor, catalyst, and aerospace component manufacturing, as well as chemical industries; and products and services that manage wash process through custom designed programs, premium products, dispensing equipment, water and energy management, and reduction, as well as real time data management. It sells its products through field sales and corporate account personnel, distributors, and dealers. Ecolab Inc. was founded in 1923 and is headquartered in Saint Paul, Minnesota.

About Green Plains

Green Plains Inc. produces low-carbon fuels in the United States and internationally. It operates through three segments: Ethanol Production, Agribusiness and Energy Services, and Partnership. The Ethanol Production segment produces ethanol, distillers grains, and ultra-high protein and renewable corn oil. The Agribusiness and Energy Services segment engages in the grain procurement, handling and storage, commodity marketing business; and trading of ethanol, distiller grains, renewable corn oil, grain, natural gas, and other commodities in various markets. This segment also provides grain drying and storage services to grain producers. The Partnership segment offers fuel storage and transportation services. It operates 24 ethanol storage facilities; two fuel terminal facilities; and a fleet of approximately 2,180 leased railcars. The company was formerly known as Green Plains Renewable Energy, Inc. and changed its name to Green Plains Inc. in May 2014. Green Plains Inc. was incorporated in 2004 and is headquartered in Omaha, Nebraska.