Analyzing Standard Lithium (NYSE:SLI) & Balchem (NASDAQ:BCPC)

Standard Lithium (NYSE:SLI) and Balchem (NASDAQ:BCPC) are both oils/energy companies, but which is the better stock? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their dividends, institutional ownership, earnings, analyst recommendations, risk, profitability and valuation.

Analyst Ratings

This is a breakdown of current ratings and target prices for Standard Lithium and Balchem, as reported by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Standard Lithium	0	0	1	0	3.00
Balchem	0	0	1	0	3.00

Standard Lithium presently has a consensus price target of $3.50, suggesting a potential upside of 125.81%. Balchem has a consensus price target of $185.00, suggesting a potential upside of 6.49%. Given Standard Lithium’s higher possible upside, equities research analysts clearly believe Standard Lithium is more favorable than Balchem.

Institutional and Insider Ownership

16.8% of Standard Lithium shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 87.9% of Balchem shares are owned by institutional investors. 3.7% of Standard Lithium shares are owned by company insiders. Comparatively, 1.3% of Balchem shares are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, large money managers and endowments believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Risk & Volatility

Standard Lithium has a beta of 1.86, indicating that its stock price is 86% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Balchem has a beta of 0.65, indicating that its stock price is 35% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Profitability

This table compares Standard Lithium and Balchem’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Standard Lithium	N/A	-36.48%	-33.60%
Balchem	12.52%	10.94%	7.34%

Earnings and Valuation

This table compares Standard Lithium and Balchem”s top-line revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Standard Lithium	N/A	N/A	-$31.35 million	($0.23)	-6.74
Balchem	$922.44 million	6.11	$108.54 million	$3.54	49.08

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

Summary

Balchem beats Standard Lithium on 8 of the 11 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Standard Lithium

Standard Lithium Ltd. explores for, develops, and processes lithium brine properties in the United States. Its flagship project is the Lanxess project with area of approximately 150,000 acres located in southern Arkansas. The company was formerly known as Patriot Petroleum Corp. and changed its name to Standard Lithium Ltd. in December 2016. Standard Lithium Ltd. was incorporated in 1998 and is headquartered in Vancouver, Canada.

About Balchem

Balchem Corporation develops, manufactures, and markets specialty performance ingredients and products for the nutritional, food, pharmaceutical, animal health, medical device sterilization, plant nutrition, and industrial markets worldwide. It operates through three segments: Human Nutrition and Health, Animal Nutrition and Health, and Specialty Products. The Human Nutrition & Health segment supplies ingredients in the food and beverage industry. Its products include spray dried and emulsified powders, extrusion and agglomeration, blended lipid systems, liquid flavor delivery systems, juice and dairy bases, chocolate systems, and cereal systems, as well as ice cream bases and variegates. This segment also offers specialty vitamin K2; microencapsulation solutions for various applications; and human grade choline nutrients and mineral amino acid chelated products for nutrition and health applications. The Animal Nutrition & Health segment provides microencapsulated products to enhance health and milk production, and delivering nutrient supplements in ruminant animals; chelation technology, which offers enhanced nutrient absorption for various species of production and companion animals; methylsulfonylmethane; and choline chloride, a nutrient for monogastric animal health. The Specialty Products segment distributes ethylene oxide and ammonia primarily for use in the health care industry; and single use canisters for sterilizing re-usable devices. This segment also markets and sells propylene oxide, a fumigant to aid in the control of insects and microbiological spoilage, as well as to reduce bacterial and mold contamination in shell and processed nut meats, processed spices, cacao beans, cocoa powder, raisins, figs, and prunes; and chelated minerals for high value crops. It sells its products through sales force, independent distributors, and sales agents. The company was incorporated in 1967 and is headquartered in Montvale, New Jersey.