Linde (NASDAQ:LIN – Get Free Report) and ARQ (NASDAQ:ARQ – Get Free Report) are both materials companies, but which is the superior business? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their profitability, dividends, institutional ownership, analyst recommendations, valuation, earnings and risk.
Insider and Institutional Ownership
82.8% of Linde shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 18.5% of ARQ shares are owned by institutional investors. 0.3% of Linde shares are owned by insiders. Comparatively, 20.1% of ARQ shares are owned by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, hedge funds and large money managers believe a company is poised for long-term growth.
Analyst Ratings
This is a breakdown of current recommendations and price targets for Linde and ARQ, as provided by MarketBeat.com.
| Sell Ratings | Hold Ratings | Buy Ratings | Strong Buy Ratings | Rating Score | |
| Linde | 0 | 2 | 19 | 2 | 3.00 |
| ARQ | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2.00 |
Valuation and Earnings
This table compares Linde and ARQ”s gross revenue, earnings per share and valuation.
| Gross Revenue | Price/Sales Ratio | Net Income | Earnings Per Share | Price/Earnings Ratio | |
| Linde | $33.99 billion | 6.59 | $6.90 billion | $15.48 | 31.41 |
| ARQ | $120.34 million | 0.74 | -$52.61 million | ($1.26) | -1.62 |
Linde has higher revenue and earnings than ARQ. ARQ is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Linde, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.
Profitability
This table compares Linde and ARQ’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.
| Net Margins | Return on Equity | Return on Assets | |
| Linde | 20.43% | 20.09% | 9.28% |
| ARQ | -42.33% | -2.54% | -1.88% |
Volatility & Risk
Linde has a beta of 0.71, indicating that its stock price is 29% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, ARQ has a beta of 2.08, indicating that its stock price is 108% more volatile than the S&P 500.
Summary
Linde beats ARQ on 12 of the 15 factors compared between the two stocks.
About Linde
Linde plc operates as an industrial gas company in the Americas, Europe, the Middle East, Africa, Asia, and South Pacific. It offers atmospheric gases, including oxygen, nitrogen, argon, and rare gases; and process gases, such as carbon dioxide, helium, hydrogen, electronic gases, specialty gases, and acetylene. The company also designs and constructs turnkey process plants for third-party customers, as well as for the gas businesses in various locations, such as air separation, hydrogen, synthesis, olefin, and natural gas plants. It serves a range of industries, including healthcare, chemicals and energy, manufacturing, metals and mining, food and beverage, and electronics. The company was founded in 1879 and is based in Woking, the United Kingdom.
About ARQ
Arq, Inc. is a holding company. It engages in the provision of environmental and emission control equipment to the power generation industry. The company operates through the following Segments: Refined Coal and Advanced Purification Technologies. The Refined Coal segment includes the Tinuum Group, Tinuum Services, and GWN Manager. The Advanced Purification Technologies segment refers to the sale of Activated Carbon Injection and Dry Sorbent Injection equipment systems, chemical sales, consulting services, and other sales related to the reduction of emissions in the coal-fired electric generation process and the electric utility industry. The company was founded in 1996 and is headquartered in Greenwood Village, CO.
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