Alto Ingredients (NASDAQ:ALTO – Get Free Report) and CN Energy Group. (NASDAQ:CNEY – Get Free Report) are both small-cap consumer discretionary companies, but which is the better investment? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their dividends, valuation, profitability, institutional ownership, risk, analyst recommendations and earnings.
Profitability
This table compares Alto Ingredients and CN Energy Group.’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.
| Net Margins | Return on Equity | Return on Assets | |
| Alto Ingredients | -5.14% | -19.06% | -12.65% |
| CN Energy Group. | N/A | N/A | N/A |
Valuation & Earnings
This table compares Alto Ingredients and CN Energy Group.’s revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.
| Gross Revenue | Price/Sales Ratio | Net Income | Earnings Per Share | Price/Earnings Ratio | |
| Alto Ingredients | $1.30 billion | 0.23 | -$41.60 million | ($0.93) | -4.25 |
| CN Energy Group. | $49.23 million | 0.10 | $2.23 million | N/A | N/A |
Institutional & Insider Ownership
35.4% of Alto Ingredients shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 15.6% of CN Energy Group. shares are held by institutional investors. 4.2% of Alto Ingredients shares are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, endowments and large money managers believe a stock will outperform the market over the long term.
Analyst Recommendations
This is a breakdown of current ratings for Alto Ingredients and CN Energy Group., as provided by MarketBeat.
| Sell Ratings | Hold Ratings | Buy Ratings | Strong Buy Ratings | Rating Score | |
| Alto Ingredients | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 3.00 |
| CN Energy Group. | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | N/A |
Alto Ingredients presently has a consensus target price of $6.50, indicating a potential upside of 64.56%. Given Alto Ingredients’ higher probable upside, equities analysts clearly believe Alto Ingredients is more favorable than CN Energy Group..
Risk & Volatility
Alto Ingredients has a beta of 2.45, meaning that its stock price is 145% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, CN Energy Group. has a beta of 0.52, meaning that its stock price is 48% less volatile than the S&P 500.
Summary
Alto Ingredients beats CN Energy Group. on 7 of the 11 factors compared between the two stocks.
About Alto Ingredients
Alto Ingredients, Inc. produces and markets specialty alcohols and essential ingredients in the United States. The company operates in three segments: Marketing and Distribution, Pekin Production, and Other Production. It offers specialty alcohols used in mouthwash, cosmetics, pharmaceuticals, hand sanitizers, disinfectants, and cleaners for health, home, and beauty markets; grain neutral spirits used in alcoholic beverages and vinegar, as well as corn germ used in corn oils and carbon dioxide used for beverage carbonation and dry ice; and essential ingredients include dried yeast, corn gluten meal, corn gluten feed, distiller's grains, and liquid feed for commercial animal feed and pet food applications. The company also provides fuel-grade ethanol used as transportation fuel and distillers corn oil used as a biodiesel feedstock, as well as fuel-grade ethanol produced by third parties. In addition, it offers transportation, storage, and delivery services through third-party service providers. The company sells ethanol to integrated oil companies and gasoline marketers; essential ingredient feed products to dairies and feedlots; and corn oil to poultry and biodiesel customers. It operates five alcohol production facilities, including three plants in Illinois, Oregon, and Idaho. The company was formerly known as Pacific Ethanol, Inc. and changed its name to Alto Ingredients, Inc. in January 2021. Alto Ingredients, Inc. was founded in 2003 and is headquartered in Pekin, Illinois.
About CN Energy Group.
CN Energy Group. Inc. manufactures and supplies wood-based activated carbon in China. The company's activated carbon is used in pharmaceutical manufacturing, industrial manufacturing, water purification, environmental protection, and food and beverage production. It also generates and supplies biomass electricity. CN Energy Group. Inc. was incorporated in 2018 and is based in Lishui, China.
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