Head-To-Head Comparison: ICL Group (NYSE:ICL) vs. Westaim (OTCMKTS:WEDXF)

ICL Group (NYSE:ICL) and Westaim (OTCMKTS:WEDXF) are both materials companies, but which is the better investment? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their earnings, risk, institutional ownership, dividends, profitability, valuation and analyst recommendations.

Earnings and Valuation

This table compares ICL Group and Westaim”s gross revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
ICL Group	$7.15 billion	1.01	$226.00 million	$0.24	23.38
Westaim	$53.37 million	8.89	-$38.00 million	($1.92)	-7.43

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

Volatility and Risk

ICL Group has a beta of 0.96, indicating that its stock price is 4% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Westaim has a beta of 0.21, indicating that its stock price is 79% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Insider and Institutional Ownership

13.4% of ICL Group shares are owned by institutional investors. 0.3% of ICL Group shares are owned by insiders. Comparatively, 4.2% of Westaim shares are owned 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 ICL Group and Westaim’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
ICL Group	3.95%	8.40%	4.19%
Westaim	-108.56%	-9.68%	-7.67%

Analyst Recommendations

This is a breakdown of recent ratings and recommmendations for ICL Group and Westaim, as reported by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
ICL Group	0	2	0	0	2.00
Westaim	0	0	0	0	0.00

ICL Group currently has a consensus price target of $6.00, indicating a potential upside of 6.95%. Given ICL Group’s stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, equities research analysts clearly believe ICL Group is more favorable than Westaim.

Summary

ICL Group beats Westaim on 11 of the 13 factors compared between the two stocks.

About ICL Group

ICL Group Ltd, together with its subsidiaries, operates as a specialty minerals and chemicals company worldwide. It operates in four segments: Industrial Products, Potash, Phosphate Solutions, and Growing Solutions. The Industrial Products segment produces bromine out of a solution that is a by-product of the potash production process, as well as bromine-based compounds; produces various grades of potash, salt, magnesium chloride, and magnesia products; and produces and markets phosphorous-based flame retardants and other phosphorus-based products. The Potash segment extracts potash from the Dead Sea; mines and produces potash and salt; produces polysulphate; produces, markets, and sells magnesium and magnesium alloys, as well as related by-products, including chlorine and sylvinite; and sells salt. The Phosphate Solutions segment uses phosphate commodity products to produce specialty products; produces and markets phosphate-based fertilizers, as well as sulphuric acid, green phosphoric acid, and phosphate fertilizers; and manufactures thermal phosphoric acid for various industrial end markets, such as oral care, cleaning products, paints and coatings, water treatment, asphalt modification, construction, and metal treatment. It also develops and produces functional food ingredients and phosphate additives for use in the processed meat, poultry, seafood, dairy, beverage, and baked goods markets; and produces milk and whey proteins for the food ingredients industry. The Growing Solutions segment develops, manufactures, markets, and sells fertilizers based primarily on nitrogen, potash, and phosphate, including water soluble specialty, liquid, soluble, and controlled-release fertilizers. It sells its products through marketing companies, agents, and distributors. The company was formerly known as Israel Chemicals Ltd. and changed its name to ICL Group Ltd in May 2020. The company was founded in 1968 and is headquartered in Tel Aviv, Israel.

About Westaim

The Westaim Corporation is a private equity firm specializing in direct and indirect investments through acquisitions, joint ventures, secondary investments both direct and indirect, fund of fund investments, and other arrangements. For direct investments, the firm invests in early venture, mid venture, late venture, middle market, later stage, mature, emerging growth, PIPEs, and buyout transactions. For fund of fund investments, it seeks to invest in private equity funds, venture capital funds, and hedge funds. The firm seeks to provide long term capital to businesses operating in the global financial services industry. It typically acquires controlling interests in businesses. The firm seeks to acquire debt, equity, or derivative securities of both public and private companies. It invests with the objective of providing its shareholders with capital appreciation and real wealth preservation. The firm seeks to provide its portfolio companies with advisory services including, but not limited to, advice on capital allocation, financing strategy, performance measurement and merger and acquisition support. It also seeks to partner with like-minded providers of third party capital to help supplement the firm's own capital, when completing acquisitions. The firm generally seeks to hold its investments for seven to 15 years. The Westaim Corporation was founded in 1996 and is based in Toronto, Canada.