Critical Analysis: Diana Shipping (NYSE:DSX) vs. C3is (NASDAQ:CISS)

Diana Shipping (NYSE:DSX) and C3is (NASDAQ:CISS) are both small-cap transportation companies, but which is the superior stock? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their earnings, dividends, institutional ownership, risk, profitability, analyst recommendations and valuation.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a summary of current recommendations and price targets for Diana Shipping and C3is, as provided by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Diana Shipping	0	1	0	0	2.00
C3is	0	0	0	0	0.00

Diana Shipping currently has a consensus price target of $3.00, indicating a potential upside of 57.48%. Given Diana Shipping’s stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, research analysts clearly believe Diana Shipping is more favorable than C3is.

Risk & Volatility

Diana Shipping has a beta of 1.05, suggesting that its share price is 5% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, C3is has a beta of 2.06, suggesting that its share price is 106% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Profitability

This table compares Diana Shipping and C3is’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Diana Shipping	5.36%	4.42%	1.89%
C3is	5.74%	19.35%	11.24%

Earnings and Valuation

This table compares Diana Shipping and C3is”s gross revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Diana Shipping	$262.10 million	0.91	$49.84 million	$0.03	63.52
C3is	$28.74 million	0.01	$9.29 million	$58.20	0.02

Diana Shipping has higher revenue and earnings than C3is. C3is is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Diana Shipping, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Insider & Institutional Ownership

48.7% of Diana Shipping shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 10.5% of C3is shares are owned by institutional investors. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, hedge funds and endowments believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.

Summary

Diana Shipping beats C3is on 7 of the 12 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Diana Shipping

Diana Shipping Inc. provides shipping transportation services. The company transports a range of dry bulk cargoes, including commodities, such as iron ore, coal, grain, and other materials in shipping routes worldwide. As of March 1, 2024, it operated a fleet of 38 dry bulk vessels, including 4 Newcastlemax, 8 Capesize, 5 Post-Panamax, 6 Kamsarmax, 9 Ultramax, and 6 Panamax. The company was formerly known as Diana Shipping Investments Corp. and changed its name to Diana Shipping Inc. in February 2005. Diana Shipping Inc. was incorporated in 1999 and is based in Athens, Greece.

About C3is

C3is Inc. offers international seaborne transportation services. It provides its services to dry bulk charterers, including national and private industrial users, commodity producers and traders, oil producers, refineries, and commodities traders and producers. The company owns and operates a fleet of two drybulk carriers, which transport major bulks, such as iron ore, coal and grains, as well as minor bulks comprising bauxite, phosphate, and fertilizers, and one Aframax crude oil tanker that transports crude oil. C3is Inc. was founded in 2021 and is based in Athens, Greece.