ARQ (ARQ) versus Its Peers Head-To-Head Survey

ARQ (NASDAQ:ARQ) is one of 18 publicly-traded companies in the “Miscellaneous chemical products” industry, but how does it weigh in compared to its competitors? We will compare ARQ to similar companies based on the strength of its profitability, valuation, institutional ownership, risk, dividends, analyst recommendations and earnings.

Risk & Volatility

ARQ has a beta of 1.44, indicating that its share price is 44% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, ARQ’s competitors have a beta of 2.69, indicating that their average share price is 169% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Profitability

This table compares ARQ and its competitors’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
ARQ	-12.35%	-8.35%	-6.16%
ARQ Competitors	2.00%	19.11%	4.62%

Insider & Institutional Ownership

18.5% of ARQ shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 64.8% of shares of all “Miscellaneous chemical products” companies are owned by institutional investors. 22.2% of ARQ shares are owned by company insiders. Comparatively, 15.6% of shares of all “Miscellaneous chemical products” companies are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, hedge funds and endowments believe a company will outperform the market over the long term.

Valuation and Earnings

This table compares ARQ and its competitors top-line revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Net Income	Price/Earnings Ratio
ARQ	$99.18 million	-$12.25 million	-13.22
ARQ Competitors	$1.13 billion	$44.23 million	13.14

ARQ’s competitors have higher revenue and earnings than ARQ. ARQ is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than its competitors, indicating that it is currently more affordable than other companies in its industry.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a breakdown of recent ratings and price targets for ARQ and its competitors, as provided by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
ARQ	0	0	0	0	N/A
ARQ Competitors	43	370	337	9	2.41

As a group, “Miscellaneous chemical products” companies have a potential upside of 24.83%. Given ARQ’s competitors higher probable upside, analysts plainly believe ARQ has less favorable growth aspects than its competitors.

Summary

ARQ competitors beat ARQ on 9 of the 10 factors compared.

About ARQ

Arq, Inc. produces activated carbon products in North America. The company's products include granular activated carbon, powdered and granular activated carbon, and colloidal carbon products; Arq Powder Wetcake, a fine and low-ash coal waste-derived particle; and additives for air emissions control. Its products are used in various applications, including water treatment, ground water remediation, soil sediments, air emissions, and asphalt additives. The company was formerly known as Advanced Emissions Solutions, Inc. and changed its name to Arq, Inc. in February 2024. Arq, Inc. was founded in 1997 and is headquartered in Greenwood Village, Colorado.