Head-To-Head Comparison: StealthGas (NASDAQ:GASS) & Okeanis Eco Tankers (NYSE:ECO)

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

Analyst Recommendations

This is a breakdown of recent recommendations and price targets for Okeanis Eco Tankers and StealthGas, as reported by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Okeanis Eco Tankers	0	0	1	0	3.00
StealthGas	0	0	0	0	0.00

Okeanis Eco Tankers presently has a consensus price target of $40.00, suggesting a potential upside of 93.89%. Given Okeanis Eco Tankers’ stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, research analysts plainly believe Okeanis Eco Tankers is more favorable than StealthGas.

Risk & Volatility

Okeanis Eco Tankers has a beta of 0.04, suggesting that its stock price is 96% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, StealthGas has a beta of 0.54, suggesting that its stock price is 46% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Insider & Institutional Ownership

66.3% of StealthGas shares are held by institutional investors. 22.1% of StealthGas shares are held by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, large money managers and endowments believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Profitability

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

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Okeanis Eco Tankers	27.68%	25.40%	9.58%
StealthGas	40.87%	11.36%	9.11%

Valuation & Earnings

This table compares Okeanis Eco Tankers and StealthGas”s revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Okeanis Eco Tankers	$393.23 million	1.69	$145.25 million	$3.38	6.10
StealthGas	$167.26 million	1.11	$51.94 million	$1.90	2.66

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

Summary

Okeanis Eco Tankers beats StealthGas on 10 of the 14 factors compared between 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 StealthGas

StealthGas Inc., together with its subsidiaries, provides seaborne transportation services to liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) producers and users worldwide. The company's carriers carry various petroleum gas products in liquefied form, including propane, butane, butadiene, isopropane, propylene, and vinyl chloride monomer, as well as ammonia; refined petroleum products, such as gasoline, diesel, fuel oil, and jet fuel; and edible oils and chemicals. It offers crude oil and natural gas. The company operates a fleet of 33 LPG carries, including six JV vessels. StealthGas Inc. was incorporated in 2004 and is based in Athens, Greece.