Hudson Technologies (NASDAQ:HDSN) and Karat Packaging (NASDAQ:KRT) Head-To-Head Review

Karat Packaging (NASDAQ:KRT) and Hudson Technologies (NASDAQ:HDSN) are both small-cap industrials companies, but which is the better investment? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their risk, valuation, institutional ownership, analyst recommendations, dividends, earnings and profitability.

Analyst Ratings

This is a breakdown of recent ratings for Karat Packaging and Hudson Technologies, as provided by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Karat Packaging	1	2	3	0	2.33
Hudson Technologies	1	3	2	0	2.17

Karat Packaging currently has a consensus price target of $36.50, suggesting a potential downside of 22.24%. Hudson Technologies has a consensus price target of $8.62, suggesting a potential upside of 59.43%. Given Hudson Technologies’ higher possible upside, analysts plainly believe Hudson Technologies is more favorable than Karat Packaging.

Profitability

This table compares Karat Packaging and Hudson Technologies’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Karat Packaging	10.18%	30.62%	16.67%
Hudson Technologies	3.51%	4.95%	3.81%

Risk & Volatility

Karat Packaging has a beta of 0.84, meaning that its share price is 16% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Hudson Technologies has a beta of 0.77, meaning that its share price is 23% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Valuation & Earnings

This table compares Karat Packaging and Hudson Technologies”s top-line revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Karat Packaging	$493.38 million	1.90	$31.48 million	$2.50	18.78
Hudson Technologies	$256.92 million	0.89	$16.67 million	$0.20	27.05

Karat Packaging has higher revenue and earnings than Hudson Technologies. Karat Packaging is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Hudson Technologies, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Institutional and Insider Ownership

25.2% of Karat Packaging shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 71.3% of Hudson Technologies shares are held by institutional investors. 57.9% of Karat Packaging shares are held by insiders. Comparatively, 1.9% of Hudson Technologies shares are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, hedge funds and large money managers believe a stock will outperform the market over the long term.

Summary

Karat Packaging beats Hudson Technologies on 11 of the 14 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Karat Packaging

Karat Packaging Inc., together with its subsidiaries, engages in the manufacture and distribution of single-use disposable products in plastic, paper, biopolymer-based, and other compostable forms used in various restaurant and foodservice settings. It provides food and take-out containers, bags, tableware, cups, lids, cutlery, straws, specialty beverage ingredients, equipment, gloves, and other products under the Karat Earth brand. The company also provides new product development, design, printing, and logistics services. It offers its products to national and regional distributors, restaurant chains, retail establishments, and online customers. The company was founded in 2000 and is based in Chino, California.

About Hudson Technologies

Hudson Technologies, Inc., through its subsidiary, Hudson Technologies Company, engages in the provision of solutions to recurring problems within the refrigeration industry in the United States. The company engages in the sale of refrigerant and industrial gas; provision of refrigerant management services consisting primarily of reclamation of refrigerants, re-usable cylinder refurbishment, and hydrostatic testing services; and RefrigerantSide services comprising system decontamination and recovery to remove moisture, oils, and other contaminants. It also offers Chiller Chemistry, which integrates several fluid tests of an operating system and the corresponding laboratory results into an engineering report; Fluid Chemistry, an abbreviated version of Chiller Chemistry, which is designed to quickly identify systems that require further examination; SmartEnergy OPS, a web-based real time continuous monitoring system, for measuring, modifying and improving the efficiency of energy systems, including air conditioning and refrigeration systems, in industrial and commercial applications; and ChillSmart, which combines the system optimization with Chiller Chemistry for providing a snapshot of a packaged chiller's operating efficiency and health. In addition, the company participates in the generation of carbon offset projects. It serves commercial, industrial, and governmental customers, as well as refrigerant wholesalers, distributors, contractors, and refrigeration equipment manufacturers. The company was incorporated in 1991 and is headquartered in Woodcliff Lake, New Jersey.