Westlake (NYSE:WLK) & KiOR (OTCMKTS:KIORQ) Head to Head Contrast

Westlake (NYSE:WLK) and KiOR (OTCMKTS:KIORQ) are both basic materials companies, but which is the better stock? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their analyst recommendations, valuation, risk, profitability, institutional ownership, earnings and dividends.

Valuation and Earnings

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

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Westlake	$12.55 billion	1.14	$479.00 million	$0.71	156.46
KiOR	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A

Westlake has higher revenue and earnings than KiOR.

Profitability

This table compares Westlake and KiOR’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Westlake	0.81%	6.93%	3.61%
KiOR	N/A	N/A	N/A

Insider and Institutional Ownership

28.4% of Westlake shares are owned by institutional investors. 74.1% of Westlake shares are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, large money managers and endowments believe a stock will outperform the market over the long term.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a summary of recent recommendations for Westlake and KiOR, as reported by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Westlake	1	4	9	0	2.57
KiOR	0	0	0	0	0.00

Westlake currently has a consensus price target of $155.79, indicating a potential upside of 40.23%. Given Westlake’s stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, equities analysts clearly believe Westlake is more favorable than KiOR.

Summary

Westlake beats KiOR on 9 of the 9 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Westlake

Westlake Corporation engages in the manufacture and marketing of performance and essential materials, and housing and infrastructure products in the United States, Canada, Germany, China, Mexico, Brazil, France, Italy, Taiwan, and internationally. The company operates through two segments: Performance and Essential Materials and Housing and Infrastructure Products. The Performance and Essential Materials segment offers ethylene, polyethylene, styrene, chlorinated derivative products, ethylene dichloride, vinyl chloride monomer, polyvinyl chloride (PVC), epoxy specialty resins, and base epoxy resins and intermediaries, as well as chlor-alkali, such as chlorine and caustic soda. The Housing and Infrastructure Products segment provides residential PVC sidings; PVC trim and mouldings; architectural stone veneers; windows; PVC decking; PVC films for various inflatables, wallcovering, and tape and roofing applications; polymer composite and cement roof tiles; PVC pipes and fittings for various water, sewer, electrical, and industrial applications; PVC compounds used in various housing, medical, and automobile products; and consumer and commercial products, such as landscape edging; industrial, home, and office matting; marine dock edging; and masonry joint controls. It offers its products to chemical processors, plastics fabricators, small construction contractors, municipalities, and supply warehouses for use in various consumer and industrial markets, including residential construction, flexible and rigid packaging, automotive products, healthcare products, water treatment, wind turbines, and coatings, as well as other durable and non-durable goods. The company was formerly known as Westlake Chemical Corporation and changed its name to Westlake Corporation in February 2022. Westlake Corporation was founded in 1986 and is headquartered in Houston, Texas. Westlake Corporation operates as a subsidiary of TTWF LP.

About KiOR

KiOR, Inc., incorporated on July 23, 2007, is a development-stage and is a next generation renewable fuels company. The Company is engaged in developing a commercial process to produce cellulosic gasoline and diesel from abundant, lignocellulosic biomass. The Company has developed a two-step technology platform that converts non-food lignocellulose into cellulosic gasoline and diesel that can be transported using the existing fuels distribution system for use in vehicles. The other renewable fuels are derived from soft starches, such as corn starch or cane sugar, for ethanol, or from soy and other vegetable oils for biodiesel, cellulosic fuel is derived from lignocellulose found in wood, grasses and the non-edible portions of plants. The Company has not generated any revenue.