Analyzing Aemetis (AMTX) and REX American Resources Corporation (REX)

Aemetis (NASDAQ: AMTX) and REX American Resources Corporation (NYSE:REX) are both small-cap oils/energy companies, but which is the better stock? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their institutional ownership, profitabiliy, earnings, dividends, valuation, risk and analyst recommendations.

Valuation & Earnings

This table compares Aemetis and REX American Resources Corporation’s revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	EBITDA	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Aemetis	$141.41 million	0.17	$700,999.00	($0.96)	-1.25
REX American Resources Corporation	$466.72 million	1.40	$71.98 million	$5.17	19.26

REX American Resources Corporation has higher revenue and earnings than Aemetis. Aemetis is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than REX American Resources Corporation, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Insider and Institutional Ownership

19.0% of Aemetis shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 88.6% of REX American Resources Corporation shares are held by institutional investors. 24.1% of Aemetis shares are held by company insiders. Comparatively, 14.7% of REX American Resources Corporation shares are held by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, endowments and large money managers believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.

Profitability

This table compares Aemetis and REX American Resources Corporation’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Aemetis	-13.47%	N/A	-26.98%
REX American Resources Corporation	7.29%	8.96%	7.70%

Analyst Ratings

This is a summary of recent ratings and price targets for Aemetis and REX American Resources Corporation, as reported by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Aemetis	0	1	0	0	2.00
REX American Resources Corporation	0	1	0	0	2.00

Aemetis presently has a consensus target price of $2.00, suggesting a potential upside of 66.67%. REX American Resources Corporation has a consensus target price of $94.50, suggesting a potential downside of 5.09%. Given Aemetis’ higher possible upside, equities research analysts clearly believe Aemetis is more favorable than REX American Resources Corporation.

Risk & Volatility

Aemetis has a beta of 0.83, meaning that its share price is 17% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, REX American Resources Corporation has a beta of 1.59, meaning that its share price is 59% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Summary

REX American Resources Corporation beats Aemetis on 9 of the 11 factors compared between the two stocks.

Aemetis Company Profile

Aemetis, Inc. is an international renewable fuels and biochemicals company. The Company is focused on the production of fuels and chemicals through the acquisition, development and commercialization of technologies that replace traditional petroleum-based products by conversion of first-generation ethanol and biodiesel plants into biorefineries. Its segments include North America and India. The North America segment includes the Company’s approximately 60 million gallon per year capacity ethanol manufacturing plant in Keyes, California and its technology lab in College Park, Maryland. The India segment includes the Company’s over 50 million gallon per year capacity biodiesel manufacturing plant in Kakinada, the administrative offices in Hyderabad, India, and the holding companies in Nevada and Mauritius. The Keyes plant produces denatured ethanol, Wet Distillers Grains, corn oil and Condensed Distillers Solubles. It produces biodiesel and refined glycerin at the Kakinada plant.

REX American Resources Corporation Company Profile

Rex American Resources Corporation is a holding company. As of January 31, 2017, the Company had invested in three ethanol production entities. It operates through alternative energy segment. As of January 31, 2017, the Company’s ethanol investments include One Earth Energy, LLC (One Earth), NuGen Energy, LLC (NuGen) and Big River Resources, LLC (Big River). One Earth has its ethanol production facility in Gibson City, Illinois. NuGen operates an ethanol producing facility in Marion, South Dakota. Big River is a holding company for various entities, including Big River Resources West Burlington, LLC, which operates an ethanol plant in West Burlington, Iowa. Big River has interest in Big River United Energy, LLC, which operates an ethanol production facility located in Dyersville, Iowa. Big River has interest in an ethanol production facility, which is located in Boyceville, Wisconsin.