Reviewing Okeanis Eco Tankers (NYSE:ECO) & Navigator (NYSE:NVGS)

Okeanis Eco Tankers (NYSE:ECO) and Navigator (NYSE:NVGS) are both small-cap transportation companies, but which is the better investment? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their risk, earnings, analyst recommendations, institutional ownership, profitability, valuation and dividends.

Profitability

This table compares Okeanis Eco Tankers and Navigator’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Okeanis Eco Tankers	29.25%	27.00%	10.04%
Navigator	14.48%	7.40%	4.23%

Analyst Ratings

This is a summary of current ratings and target prices for Okeanis Eco Tankers and Navigator, as reported by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Okeanis Eco Tankers	0	0	1	0	3.00
Navigator	0	0	5	0	3.00

Okeanis Eco Tankers presently has a consensus target price of $44.00, suggesting a potential upside of 83.49%. Navigator has a consensus target price of $21.60, suggesting a potential upside of 36.11%. Given Okeanis Eco Tankers’ higher probable upside, equities research analysts plainly believe Okeanis Eco Tankers is more favorable than Navigator.

Dividends

Okeanis Eco Tankers pays an annual dividend of $1.76 per share and has a dividend yield of 7.3%. Navigator pays an annual dividend of $0.20 per share and has a dividend yield of 1.3%. Okeanis Eco Tankers pays out 48.5% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Navigator pays out 17.7% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Both companies have healthy payout ratios and should be able to cover their dividend payments with earnings for the next several years.

Insider & Institutional Ownership

19.0% of Navigator shares are held by institutional investors. 0.4% of Navigator shares are held by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, endowments and hedge funds believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.

Valuation and Earnings

This table compares Okeanis Eco Tankers and Navigator”s top-line revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Okeanis Eco Tankers	$413.10 million	1.87	$145.25 million	$3.63	6.61
Navigator	$564.28 million	2.06	$82.25 million	$1.13	14.04

Okeanis Eco Tankers has higher earnings, but lower revenue than Navigator. Okeanis Eco Tankers is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Navigator, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

About Okeanis Eco Tankers

Okeanis Eco Tankers Corp., a shipping company, owns and operates tanker vessels worldwide. It operates a fleet of 14 tanker vessels comprising six modern Suezmax tankers and eight modern VLCC tankers focusing on the transportation of crude oil. The company was incorporated in 2018 and is based in Neo Faliro, Greece.

About Navigator

Navigator Holdings Ltd. engages in owning and operating a fleet of liquefied gas carriers worldwide. It provides international and regional seaborne transportation services of petrochemical gases, liquefied petroleum gases, and ammonia for energy companies, industrial users, and commodity traders. The company also offers ship shore infrastructure and consultancy services. It operates a fleet of 56 semi- or fully-refrigerated liquefied gas carriers. The company was formerly known as Isle of Man public limited company and changed its name to Navigator Holdings Ltd. in 2006. Navigator Holdings Ltd. was incorporated in 1997 and is based in London, the United Kingdom.