Westlake Chemical Partners (NYSE:WLKP) vs. Verde Clean Fuels (NASDAQ:VGAS) Financial Contrast

Westlake Chemical Partners (NYSE:WLKP) and Verde Clean Fuels (NASDAQ:VGAS) are both small-cap basic materials companies, but which is the superior stock? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their institutional ownership, valuation, analyst recommendations, dividends, earnings, risk and profitability.

Earnings and Valuation

This table compares Westlake Chemical Partners and Verde Clean Fuels’ top-line revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Westlake Chemical Partners	$1.19 billion	0.68	$54.28 million	$1.54	14.88
Verde Clean Fuels	N/A	N/A	-$2.74 million	($0.49)	-8.51

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

Analyst Ratings

This is a breakdown of current ratings and recommmendations for Westlake Chemical Partners and Verde Clean Fuels, as reported by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Westlake Chemical Partners	0	0	0	0	N/A
Verde Clean Fuels	0	0	0	0	N/A

Risk & Volatility

Westlake Chemical Partners has a beta of 1.12, meaning that its share price is 12% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Verde Clean Fuels has a beta of -0.64, meaning that its share price is 164% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Institutional & Insider Ownership

78.3% of Westlake Chemical Partners shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 15.6% of Verde Clean Fuels shares are held by institutional investors. 1.1% of Westlake Chemical Partners shares are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, hedge funds and endowments believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Profitability

This table compares Westlake Chemical Partners and Verde Clean Fuels’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Westlake Chemical Partners	4.64%	6.32%	4.10%
Verde Clean Fuels	N/A	-9.83%	-8.48%

Summary

Westlake Chemical Partners beats Verde Clean Fuels on 10 of the 10 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 Verde Clean Fuels

Verde Clean Fuels, Inc., operates as a clean energy technology company in the United States. It specializes in the conversion of synthesis gas, or syngas, derived from feedstocks, such as biomass, natural gas, and other feedstocks into liquid hydrocarbons that can be used as gasoline through proprietary liquid fuels technology. Verde Clean Fuels, Inc. was founded in 2007 and is headquartered in Houston, Texas.