Ecolab (NYSE:ECL) vs. Westlake Chemical Partners (NYSE:WLKP) Critical Comparison

Westlake Chemical Partners (NYSE:WLKP) and Ecolab (NYSE:ECL) are both materials companies, but which is the better stock? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their dividends, institutional ownership, analyst recommendations, profitability, valuation, earnings and risk.

Profitability

This table compares Westlake Chemical Partners and Ecolab’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Westlake Chemical Partners	4.66%	7.25%	4.63%
Ecolab	11.99%	22.57%	8.23%

Dividends

Westlake Chemical Partners pays an annual dividend of $1.89 per share and has a dividend yield of 8.9%. Ecolab pays an annual dividend of $2.92 per share and has a dividend yield of 1.0%. Westlake Chemical Partners pays out 116.0% of its earnings in the form of a dividend, suggesting it may not have sufficient earnings to cover its dividend payment in the future. Ecolab pays out 39.7% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Ecolab has raised its dividend for 33 consecutive years.

Risk and Volatility

Westlake Chemical Partners has a beta of 0.51, indicating that its share price is 49% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Ecolab has a beta of 0.85, indicating that its share price is 15% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Insider and Institutional Ownership

78.3% of Westlake Chemical Partners shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 74.9% of Ecolab shares are held by institutional investors. 1.1% of Westlake Chemical Partners shares are held by company insiders. Comparatively, 0.5% of Ecolab shares are held by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, hedge funds and endowments believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Analyst Ratings

This is a breakdown of current ratings for Westlake Chemical Partners and Ecolab, as provided by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Westlake Chemical Partners	0	1	1	0	2.50
Ecolab	0	3	18	1	2.91

Westlake Chemical Partners currently has a consensus price target of $26.00, suggesting a potential upside of 22.57%. Ecolab has a consensus price target of $328.58, suggesting a potential upside of 9.23%. Given Westlake Chemical Partners’ higher probable upside, equities research analysts clearly believe Westlake Chemical Partners is more favorable than Ecolab.

Earnings and Valuation

This table compares Westlake Chemical Partners and Ecolab”s gross revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Westlake Chemical Partners	$1.17 billion	0.64	$48.70 million	$1.63	13.01
Ecolab	$16.08 billion	5.25	$2.08 billion	$7.35	40.93

Ecolab has higher revenue and earnings than Westlake Chemical Partners. Westlake Chemical Partners is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Ecolab, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Summary

Ecolab beats Westlake Chemical Partners on 14 of the 18 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Westlake Chemical Partners

Westlake Chemical Partners LP acquires, develops, and operates ethylene production facilities and related assets in the United States. The company’s ethylene production facilities primarily convert ethane into ethylene. It also sells ethylene co-products, such as propylene, crude butadiene, pyrolysis gasoline, and hydrogen directly to third parties on either a spot or contract basis. Westlake Chemical Partners GP LLC serves as the general partner of the company. Westlake Chemical Partners LP was founded in 1991 and is headquartered in Houston, Texas.

About Ecolab

Ecolab Inc. provides water, hygiene, and infection prevention solutions and services in the United States and internationally. The company operates through three segments: Global Industrial; Global Institutional & Specialty; and Global Healthcare & Life Sciences. The Global Industrial segment offers water treatment and process applications, and cleaning and sanitizing solutions to manufacturing, food and beverage processing, transportation, chemical, metals and mining, power generation, pulp and paper, commercial laundry, petroleum, refining, and petrochemical industries. Its Global Institutional & Specialty segment provides specialized cleaning and sanitizing products to the foodservice, hospitality, lodging, government and education, and retail industries. The Global Healthcare & Life Sciences segment offers specialized cleaning and sanitizing products to the healthcare, personal care, and pharmaceutical industries, such as infection prevention and surgical solutions, and end-to-end cleaning and contamination control solutions under the Ecolab, Microtek, and Anios brand names. In addition, the company provides pest elimination services to detect, eliminate, and prevent pests, such as rodents and insects in restaurants, food and beverage processors, hotels, grocery operations, and other commercial segments including education, life sciences, and healthcare customers. Further, it offers colloidal silica for binding and polishing applications in semiconductor, catalyst, and aerospace component manufacturing, as well as chemical industries; and products and services that manage wash process through custom designed programs, premium products, dispensing equipment, water and energy management, and reduction, as well as real time data management. It sells its products through field sales and corporate account personnel, distributors, and dealers. Ecolab Inc. was founded in 1923 and is headquartered in Saint Paul, Minnesota.