Head to Head Comparison: Pyxis Tankers (NASDAQ:PXS) & KNOT Offshore Partners (NYSE:KNOP)

Pyxis Tankers (NASDAQ:PXS) and KNOT Offshore Partners (NYSE:KNOP) are both small-cap transportation companies, but which is the better investment? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their institutional ownership, risk, profitability, earnings, dividends, analyst recommendations and valuation.

Earnings and Valuation

This table compares Pyxis Tankers and KNOT Offshore Partners”s revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Pyxis Tankers	$44.58 million	0.64	$12.87 million	($0.04)	-68.50
KNOT Offshore Partners	$338.64 million	0.99	$13.93 million	$0.99	9.91

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

Profitability

This table compares Pyxis Tankers and KNOT Offshore Partners’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Pyxis Tankers	6.26%	5.39%	2.87%
KNOT Offshore Partners	10.00%	5.58%	1.82%

Institutional & Insider Ownership

56.2% of Pyxis Tankers shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 26.8% of KNOT Offshore Partners shares are held by institutional investors. 54.6% of Pyxis Tankers shares are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, large money managers and hedge funds believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Analyst Ratings

This is a breakdown of current ratings for Pyxis Tankers and KNOT Offshore Partners, as reported by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Pyxis Tankers	1	0	0	0	1.00
KNOT Offshore Partners	0	4	0	0	2.00

Risk & Volatility

Pyxis Tankers has a beta of -0.64, suggesting that its stock price is 164% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, KNOT Offshore Partners has a beta of -0.02, suggesting that its stock price is 102% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Summary

KNOT Offshore Partners beats Pyxis Tankers on 9 of the 12 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Pyxis Tankers

Pyxis Tankers, Inc. is an international maritime transportation holding company, which engages in the ownership and operation of a fleet of product tankers. It also deals with the seaborne transportation and shipping of refined petroleum products and other bulk liquids. It operates through the Tanker Vessels and Dry-bulk Vessels segments. The company was founded by Valentios Valentis on March 23, 2015 and is headquartered in Maroussi, Greece.

About KNOT Offshore Partners

KNOT Offshore Partners LP acquires, owns, and operates shuttle tankers under long-term charters in the North Sea and Brazil. The company provides loading, transportation, and discharge of crude oil under time charters and bareboat charters. The company was founded in 2013 and is headquartered in Aberdeen, the United Kingdom.