Ascent Industries Co. (NASDAQ: ACNT)

Sector: Basic Materials Industry: Steel CIK: 0000095953
Market Cap 155.14 Mn
P/B 1.78
P/E 176.50
P/S 1.50
ROIC (Qtr) -4.81
Div Yield % 0.00
Rev 1y % (Qtr) -5.66
Total Debt (Qtr) 21.45 Mn
Debt/Equity (Qtr) 0.25
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About

Investment thesis

Bull case

  • Healthy cash reserves of 58.04M provide 27.65x coverage of short-term debt 2.10M, demonstrating strong liquidity position and minimal refinancing risk.
  • Strong tangible asset base of 116.90M provides 5.45x coverage of total debt 21.45M, indicating robust asset backing and low credit risk.
  • Operating cash flow of 8.04M provides strong 11.86x coverage of stock compensation 678000, indicating sustainable incentive practices.
  • Robust free cash flow of 6.34M exceeds capital expenditure of 1.69M by 3.75x, indicating strong organic growth funding capability.
  • Retained earnings of 46.83M provide full 2.42x coverage of long-term debt 19.35M, indicating strong internal capital position.

Bear case

  • Operating cash flow of 8.04M barely covers its investment activities of 50.83M, with a coverage ratio of 0.16, indicating heavy reliance on external financing for growth which may not be sustainable in a tighter credit environment.
  • High receivables of 17.98M relative to inventory of 7.18M (2.51 ratio) suggests aggressive credit terms or collection difficulties, potentially masking revenue quality issues.
  • Operating cash flow of 8.04M provides minimal -56.61x coverage of tax expenses of (142000), suggesting potential tax planning inefficiencies or unsustainable tax positions.
  • Operating earnings of 485000 show weak coverage of depreciation charges of 5.11M, with a 0.09 ratio indicating high capital intensity and potential reinvestment needs.
  • Free cash flow of 6.34M represents just -34.86x of debt issuance (182000), suggesting concerning reliance on leverage rather than internal cash generation for growth.

Segments Breakdown of Revenue (2024)

Product and Service Breakdown of Revenue (2024)

Peer comparison

Companies in the Steel
S.No. Ticker Company Market Cap P/E P/S Total Debt (Qtr)
1 NUE Nucor Corp 58.33 Bn 74.96 2.91 6.85 Bn
2 STLD Steel Dynamics Inc 40.60 Bn 83.81 4.34 3.78 Bn
3 RS Reliance, Inc. 26.37 Bn 77.34 2.59 1.69 Bn
4 PKX Posco Holdings Inc. 19.54 Bn 56.38 0.39 19.69 Bn
5 CMC COMMERCIAL METALS Co 9.18 Bn 198.05 2.39 3.35 Bn
6 CLF Cleveland-Cliffs Inc. 5.34 Bn -3.62 0.29 7.25 Bn
7 WS Worthington Steel, Inc. 2.24 Bn 18.89 0.72 0.28 Bn
8 MTUS Metallus Inc. 0.97 Bn -116.67 0.86 0.02 Bn

Industry comparisons

Current Valuation Value Ind Avg Percentile
EV to Assets EV to Assets 0.97 1.89
EV to Cash from Ops. EV/CFO 14.52 4.54
EV to Debt EV to Debt 5.44 -3.26
EV to EBIT EV/EBIT 240.72 -15.16
EV to EBITDA EV/EBITDA -2,993.60 -139.64
EV to Free Cash Flow [EV/FCF] EV/FCF 18.40 46.24
EV to Market Cap EV to Market Cap 0.75 -0.56
EV to Revenue EV/Rev 1.13 2.70
Price to Book Value [P/B] P/B 1.78 8.16
Price to Earnings [P/E] P/E 176.50 22.89
Dividend Metrics Value Ind Avg Percentile
Dividend Coverage Ratio Div Coverage (Qtr) 0.00 -41.90
Dividend Payout Ratio % Div Payout % (Qtr) 0.00 41.41
Dividend per Basic Share Div per Share (Qtr) 0.00 0.99
FCF Dividend Payout Ratio % FCF Div Payout % (Qtr) 0.00 24.68
Interest Coverage Int. cover (Qtr) -1.92 10.33
Growth Metrics Value Ind Avg Percentile
Capex Growth (1y) % Capex 1y % (Qtr) -39.80 -25.11
Cash and Equivalents Growth (1y) % Cash & Equiv 1y % (Qtr) 579.09 72.27
Dividend Growth (1y) % Div 1y % (Qtr) 0.00 24.03
EBIAT Growth (1y) % EBIAT 1y % (Qtr) 118.81 -69.57
EBITDA Growth (1y) % EBITDA 1y % (Qtr) 99.67 -69.57
EBIT Growth (1y) % EBIT 1y % (Qtr) -80.73 -69.73
EBT Growth (1y) % EBT 1y % (Qtr) -37.17 -89.44
EPS Growth (1y) % EPS 1y % (Qtr) 166.67 -67.10
FCF Growth (1y) % FCF 1y % (Qtr) 2.37 -11.81
Gross Profit Growth (1y) % Gross Profit 1y % (Qtr) 279.31 -592.10
Liquidity Ratios Value Ind Avg Percentile
Asset Utilization Ratio Asset Util Ratio (Qtr) 0.87 0.83
Cash Payout Ratio Cash Payout (Qtr) 0.00 0.30
Cash Ratio Cash Ratio (Qtr) 4.38 11.50
Current Ratio Curr Ratio (Qtr) 6.40 15.74
Debt to Equity Ratio Debt/Equity (Qtr) 0.25 0.62
Interest Cover Ratio Int Coverage (Qtr) -1.92 10.33
Times Interest Earned Times Interest Earned (Qtr) -1.92 10.33
Profitability Value Ind Avg Percentile
EBITDA Margin % EBITDA Margin % (Qtr) 5.40 -0.83
EBIT Margin % EBIT Margin % (Qtr) 0.47 571.21
EBT Margin % EBT Margin % (Qtr) 0.71 -4.72
Gross Margin % Gross Margin % (Qtr) 21.90 17.71
Net Profit Margin % Net Margin % (Qtr) 0.80 -4.68