Analyzing Top Ships (NASDAQ:TOPS) and Capital Clean Energy Carriers (NASDAQ:CCEC)

Top Ships (NASDAQ:TOPS) and Capital Clean Energy Carriers (NASDAQ:CCEC) are both small-cap transportation companies, but which is the better stock? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their analyst recommendations, earnings, institutional ownership, dividends, risk, profitability and valuation.

Risk and Volatility

Top Ships has a beta of 1.72, suggesting that its share price is 72% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Capital Clean Energy Carriers has a beta of 0.87, suggesting that its share price is 13% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Profitability

This table compares Top Ships and Capital Clean Energy Carriers’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Top Ships	N/A	N/A	N/A
Capital Clean Energy Carriers	24.89%	6.83%	2.26%

Institutional & Insider Ownership

6.7% of Top Ships shares are held by institutional investors. 0.3% of Top Ships shares are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, endowments and hedge funds believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.

Earnings and Valuation

This table compares Top Ships and Capital Clean Energy Carriers”s revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Top Ships	$56.37 million	0.72	$6.07 million	N/A	N/A
Capital Clean Energy Carriers	$393.20 million	2.63	$47.21 million	N/A	N/A

Capital Clean Energy Carriers has higher revenue and earnings than Top Ships.

Analyst Ratings

This is a breakdown of recent ratings and recommmendations for Top Ships and Capital Clean Energy Carriers, as provided by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Top Ships	0	0	0	0	N/A
Capital Clean Energy Carriers	0	0	1	0	3.00

Capital Clean Energy Carriers has a consensus price target of $22.00, suggesting a potential upside of 17.65%. Given Capital Clean Energy Carriers’ higher possible upside, analysts plainly believe Capital Clean Energy Carriers is more favorable than Top Ships.

Summary

Capital Clean Energy Carriers beats Top Ships on 8 of the 11 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Top Ships

Top Ships Inc. owns and operates tanker vessels worldwide. The company's tanker vessels transport crude oil, petroleum products, and bulk liquid chemicals. As of December 31, 2023, it had a fleet with a total capacity of 1,435,000 deadweight tonnes (dwt) consisting of one 50,000 dwt product/chemical tanker, five 157,000 dwt Suezmax tankers, two 300,000 dwt very large crude carriers, and two 50,000 dwt product tankers. The company was formerly known as Top Tankers Inc. and changed its name to Top Ships Inc. in December 2007. Top Ships Inc. was incorporated in 2000 and is based in Maroussi, Greece.

About Capital Clean Energy Carriers

Capital Clean Energy Carriers Corp., a shipping company, provides marine transportation services in Greece. The company’s vessels provide a range of cargoes, including liquefied natural gas, containerized goods, and cargo under short-term voyage charters, and medium to long-term time charters. It owns vessels, including Neo-Panamax container vessels, Panamax container vessels, cape-size bulk carrier, and LNG carriers. In addition, the company produces and distributes oil and natural gas, including biofuels, motor oil, lubricants, petrol, crudes, liquefied natural gas, marine fuels, natural gas liquids, and petrochemicals. It serves as the general partner of the company. The company was formerly known as Capital Product Partners L.P. and changed its name to Capital Clean Energy Carriers Corp. in August 2024. Capital Clean Energy Carriers Corp. was incorporated in 2007 and is headquartered in Piraeus, Greece. Capital Clean Energy Carriers Corp. operates as a subsidiary of Capital Maritime & Trading Corp.