Nordic American Tankers (NYSE:NAT – Get Free Report) and Diana Shipping (NYSE:DSX – Get Free Report) are both small-cap transportation companies, but which is the superior stock? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their institutional ownership, analyst recommendations, dividends, profitability, valuation, risk and earnings.
Profitability
This table compares Nordic American Tankers and Diana Shipping’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.
| Net Margins | Return on Equity | Return on Assets | |
| Nordic American Tankers | 1.12% | 0.39% | 0.21% |
| Diana Shipping | 11.18% | 4.93% | 2.11% |
Analyst Ratings
This is a summary of current ratings and target prices for Nordic American Tankers and Diana Shipping, as reported by MarketBeat.
| Sell Ratings | Hold Ratings | Buy Ratings | Strong Buy Ratings | Rating Score | |
| Nordic American Tankers | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 2.00 |
| Diana Shipping | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1.00 |
Volatility & Risk
Nordic American Tankers has a beta of -0.45, suggesting that its share price is 145% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Diana Shipping has a beta of 0.69, suggesting that its share price is 31% less volatile than the S&P 500.
Earnings & Valuation
This table compares Nordic American Tankers and Diana Shipping”s gross revenue, earnings per share and valuation.
| Gross Revenue | Price/Sales Ratio | Net Income | Earnings Per Share | Price/Earnings Ratio | |
| Nordic American Tankers | $225.10 million | 3.17 | $46.64 million | $0.02 | 168.25 |
| Diana Shipping | $228.21 million | 0.85 | $12.75 million | $0.11 | 15.32 |
Nordic American Tankers has higher earnings, but lower revenue than Diana Shipping. Diana Shipping is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Nordic American Tankers, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.
Insider & Institutional Ownership
44.3% of Nordic American Tankers shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 48.7% of Diana Shipping shares are owned by institutional investors. 2.9% of Nordic American Tankers shares are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, hedge funds and endowments believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.
Dividends
Nordic American Tankers pays an annual dividend of $0.52 per share and has a dividend yield of 15.5%. Diana Shipping pays an annual dividend of $0.04 per share and has a dividend yield of 2.4%. Nordic American Tankers pays out 2,600.0% of its earnings in the form of a dividend, suggesting it may not have sufficient earnings to cover its dividend payment in the future. Diana Shipping pays out 36.4% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Nordic American Tankers has increased its dividend for 1 consecutive years. Nordic American Tankers is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and longer track record of dividend growth.
About Nordic American Tankers
Nordic American Tankers Limited, a tanker company, acquires and charters double-hull tankers in Bermuda and internationally. It operates a fleet of 20 Suezmax crude oil tankers. The company was incorporated in 1995 and is headquartered in Hamilton, Bermuda.
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.
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