Critical Analysis: LiqTech International (LIQT) versus Its Competitors

LiqTech International (NASDAQ:LIQT) is one of 437 publicly-traded companies in the “Machinery” industry, but how does it compare to its competitors? We will compare LiqTech International to similar companies based on the strength of its analyst recommendations, valuation, profitability, earnings, institutional ownership, risk and dividends.

Insider & Institutional Ownership

35.1% of LiqTech International shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 52.6% of shares of all “Machinery” companies are held by institutional investors. 12.8% of LiqTech International shares are held by insiders. Comparatively, 13.8% of shares of all “Machinery” companies are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, endowments and hedge funds believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.

Profitability

This table compares LiqTech International and its competitors’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
LiqTech International	-55.45%	-79.64%	-31.11%
LiqTech International Competitors	-1,937.72%	-13.27%	0.73%

Analyst Recommendations

This is a summary of recent recommendations for LiqTech International and its competitors, as reported by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
LiqTech International	2	0	1	0	1.67
LiqTech International Competitors	4050	14436	17843	767	2.41

LiqTech International currently has a consensus price target of $4.40, indicating a potential upside of 590.74%. As a group, “Machinery” companies have a potential upside of 24.14%. Given LiqTech International’s higher possible upside, equities analysts clearly believe LiqTech International is more favorable than its competitors.

Risk and Volatility

LiqTech International has a beta of 1.05, meaning that its share price is 5% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, LiqTech International’s competitors have a beta of 4.40, meaning that their average share price is 340% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Earnings & Valuation

This table compares LiqTech International and its competitors gross revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Net Income	Price/Earnings Ratio
LiqTech International	$16.51 million	-$8.60 million	-0.69
LiqTech International Competitors	$4.45 billion	$345.47 million	0.22

LiqTech International’s competitors have higher revenue and earnings than LiqTech International. LiqTech International is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than its competitors, indicating that it is currently more affordable than other companies in its industry.

Summary

LiqTech International competitors beat LiqTech International on 11 of the 13 factors compared.

About LiqTech International

LiqTech International, Inc., a clean technology company, designs, develops, produces, markets, and sells automated filtering systems, ceramic silicon carbide liquid applications, and diesel particulate air filters in the United States, Canada, Europe, Asia, and South America. The company operates through Water, Ceramics, and Plastics segments. It also manufactures and sells silicon carbide ceramic filtration technologies for liquid and gas purification; and diesel particulate filters for exhaust emission control solutions to the verified retrofit and the original equipment manufacturer market. In addition, the company develops, manufactures, and sells liquid filtration systems, which are used for the marine scrubber systems, filtration of produced water, industrial applications, pool and spa water, food and beverage application, and silicon carbide membrane technology. Further, it provides flexible and plastics manufacturing products for machining, welding, bending, and solvent cementing. LiqTech International, Inc. sells its products primarily to industrial customers through direct sales, systems integrators, distributors, agents, and partners. The company was formerly known as Blue Moose Media, Inc. and changed its name to LiqTech International, Inc. in October 2011. LiqTech International, Inc. was founded in 2000 and is headquartered in Ballerup, Denmark.