Head-To-Head Review: Quest Resource (NASDAQ:QRHC) versus LanzaTech Global (NASDAQ:LNZA)

LanzaTech Global (NASDAQ:LNZA) and Quest Resource (NASDAQ:QRHC) are both small-cap industrials companies, but which is the superior business? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their analyst recommendations, earnings, institutional ownership, valuation, dividends, risk and profitability.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a breakdown of current recommendations for LanzaTech Global and Quest Resource, as provided by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
LanzaTech Global	1	2	0	0	1.67
Quest Resource	1	1	0	0	1.50

LanzaTech Global currently has a consensus price target of $14.00, suggesting a potential upside of 145.18%. Given LanzaTech Global’s stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, analysts clearly believe LanzaTech Global is more favorable than Quest Resource.

Profitability

This table compares LanzaTech Global and Quest Resource’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
LanzaTech Global	295.66%	-47.63%	-22.76%
Quest Resource	-7.07%	-14.75%	-3.78%

Institutional and Insider Ownership

17.8% of LanzaTech Global shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 48.2% of Quest Resource shares are held by institutional investors. 1.3% of LanzaTech Global shares are held by company insiders. Comparatively, 19.6% of Quest Resource shares are held by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, endowments and hedge funds believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Earnings & Valuation

This table compares LanzaTech Global and Quest Resource”s gross revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
LanzaTech Global	$58.31 million	1.28	-$48.95 million	$14.99	0.38
Quest Resource	$248.05 million	0.12	-$15.38 million	($0.82)	-1.66

Quest Resource has higher revenue and earnings than LanzaTech Global. Quest Resource is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than LanzaTech Global, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

About LanzaTech Global

LanzaTech Global, Inc. operates as a nature-based carbon refining company in the United States and internationally. The company transforms waste carbon into the chemical building blocks for consumer goods, such as sustainable fuels, fabrics, and packaging. It is also developing biocatalysts and processes to produce a suite of additional products utilizing novel biocatalysts, including acetone and isopropanol (IPA) and industrial solvents used in various applications, including production of polymers from IPA. LanzaTech Global, Inc. was founded in 2005 and is headquartered in Skokie, Illinois.

About Quest Resource

Quest Resource Holding Corporation, together with its subsidiaries, provides solutions for the reuse, recycling, and disposal of various waste streams and recyclables in the United States. The company provides disposal and recycling services for motor oil and automotive lubricants, oil filters, scrap tires, oily water, goods destruction, food waste, meat renderings, cooking oil and grease trap waste, plastics, cardboard, metal, glass, mixed paper, construction debris, as well as a large variety of regulated and non-regulated solid, liquid, and gas wastes. It offers antifreeze and windshield washer fluid, dumpster and compacting equipment, and other minor ancillary services. In addition, the company offers landfill diversion services. Its services focus on the waste streams and recyclables from big box, grocers, and other retailers; automotive maintenance, quick lube, dealerships, and collision repair; transportation, logistics, and internal fleet operators; manufacturing plants; multi-family and commercial properties; restaurant chains and food operations; and construction and demolition projects. The company markets its services to automotive, manufacturing, hospitality and retail, construction and demolition, and commercial and multi-family property management industries through direct sales force and strategic partnerships. The company was formerly known as Infinity Resources Holdings Corp. and changed its name to Quest Resource Holding Corporation in October 2013. Quest Resource Holding Corporation is headquartered in The Colony, Texas.