Contrasting Toro (NASDAQ:TORO) and DHT (NYSE:DHT)

Toro (NASDAQ:TORO) and DHT (NYSE:DHT) are both small-cap transportation companies, but which is the superior business? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their earnings, analyst recommendations, institutional ownership, dividends, profitability, valuation and risk.

Profitability

This table compares Toro and DHT’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Toro	247.75%	37.32%	21.72%
DHT	27.45%	15.19%	10.58%

Volatility & Risk

Toro has a beta of 1.98, suggesting that its share price is 98% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, DHT has a beta of -0.36, suggesting that its share price is 136% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Insider and Institutional Ownership

1.7% of Toro shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 58.5% of DHT shares are held by institutional investors. 1.6% of DHT shares are held by company 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.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a breakdown of recent recommendations and price targets for Toro and DHT, as reported by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Toro	0	0	0	0	N/A
DHT	0	1	2	1	3.00

DHT has a consensus price target of $14.67, suggesting a potential upside of 23.15%. Given DHT’s higher possible upside, analysts clearly believe DHT is more favorable than Toro.

Earnings and Valuation

This table compares Toro and DHT”s revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Toro	$34.93 million	1.77	$140.64 million	$2.78	1.17
DHT	$573.22 million	3.35	$161.35 million	$1.05	11.34

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

Summary

DHT beats Toro on 9 of the 14 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Toro

Toro Corp., a shipping company, acquires, owns, charters, and operates oceangoing tanker vessels and provides seaborne transportation services for crude oil LPG, and refined petroleum products worldwide. The company operates in three segments: Aframax/LR2 Tanker, Handysize Tanker, and LPG Carrier. As of December 31, 2023, it operated a fleet of one Handysize tanker vessel; one Aframax/LR2 vessel; and four LPG carrier vessels with an aggregate cargo carrying capacity of 0.1 million deadweight ton. Toro Corp. was incorporated in 2022 and is based in Limassol, Cyprus.

About DHT

DHT Holdings, Inc., through its subsidiaries, owns and operates crude oil tankers primarily in Monaco, Singapore, and Norway. The company also offers technical management services. As of March 15, 2024, it had a fleet of 24 very large crude carriers. The company was incorporated in 2005 and is headquartered in Hamilton, Bermuda.