Comparing Loop Industries (NASDAQ:LOOP) and Standard Lithium (NYSE:SLI)

Standard Lithium (NYSE:SLI) and Loop Industries (NASDAQ:LOOP) are both small-cap oils/energy companies, but which is the better stock? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their profitability, earnings, analyst recommendations, dividends, risk, institutional ownership and valuation.

Volatility & Risk

Standard Lithium has a beta of 1.79, indicating that its stock price is 79% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Loop Industries has a beta of 1.52, indicating that its stock price is 52% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Earnings and Valuation

This table compares Standard Lithium and Loop Industries”s top-line revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Standard Lithium	N/A	N/A	$108.82 million	$0.58	3.72
Loop Industries	$150,000.00	400.01	-$21.09 million	($0.40)	-3.15

Standard Lithium has higher earnings, but lower revenue than Loop Industries. Loop Industries is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Standard Lithium, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a breakdown of current recommendations and price targets for Standard Lithium and Loop Industries, as provided by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Standard Lithium	0	0	1	0	3.00
Loop Industries	0	0	0	0	0.00

Standard Lithium currently has a consensus price target of $3.50, suggesting a potential upside of 62.04%. Given Standard Lithium’s stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, equities research analysts clearly believe Standard Lithium is more favorable than Loop Industries.

Institutional & Insider Ownership

16.8% of Standard Lithium shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 4.9% of Loop Industries shares are held by institutional investors. 3.7% of Standard Lithium shares are held by insiders. Comparatively, 49.8% of Loop Industries 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.

Profitability

This table compares Standard Lithium and Loop Industries’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Standard Lithium	N/A	-15.67%	-14.05%
Loop Industries	-19,364.00%	-164.29%	-97.95%

Summary

Standard Lithium beats Loop Industries on 11 of the 13 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Standard Lithium

Standard Lithium Ltd. explores for, develops, and processes lithium brine properties in the United States. Its flagship project is the Lanxess project with area of approximately 150,000 acres located in southern Arkansas. The company was formerly known as Patriot Petroleum Corp. and changed its name to Standard Lithium Ltd. in December 2016. Standard Lithium Ltd. was incorporated in 1998 and is headquartered in Vancouver, Canada.

About Loop Industries

Loop Industries, Inc., a technology company, focuses on depolymerizing waste polyethylene terephthalate PET plastics and polyester fibers, including plastic bottles, packaging, carpets and textiles of any color, transparency and even ocean plastics that have been degraded by the sun and salt, to its base building blocks. Its polymerized monomers into virgin-quality PET resins for use in food-grade plastic packaging, such as plastic bottles for water and carbonated soft drinks, and containers for food and other consumer products; and polyester fibers, including textiles, clothing, and apparel. The company was incorporated in 2010 and is based in Terrebonne, Canada.