Critical Contrast: ZIM Integrated Shipping Services (NYSE:ZIM) and Icon Energy (NASDAQ:ICON)

ZIM Integrated Shipping Services (NYSE:ZIM) and Icon Energy (NASDAQ:ICON) are both transportation companies, but which is the better investment? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their earnings, profitability, dividends, risk, valuation, analyst recommendations and institutional ownership.

Risk & Volatility

ZIM Integrated Shipping Services has a beta of 1.26, indicating that its share price is 26% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Icon Energy has a beta of 5.39, indicating that its share price is 439% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Analyst Ratings

This is a summary of recent ratings and price targets for ZIM Integrated Shipping Services and Icon Energy, as provided by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
ZIM Integrated Shipping Services	2	4	0	1	2.00
Icon Energy	0	0	0	0	0.00

ZIM Integrated Shipping Services presently has a consensus target price of $17.83, suggesting a potential downside of 23.98%. Given ZIM Integrated Shipping Services’ stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, equities analysts clearly believe ZIM Integrated Shipping Services is more favorable than Icon Energy.

Profitability

This table compares ZIM Integrated Shipping Services and Icon Energy’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
ZIM Integrated Shipping Services	1.56%	-0.26%	-0.09%
Icon Energy	N/A	N/A	N/A

Insider and Institutional Ownership

21.4% of ZIM Integrated Shipping Services shares are held by institutional investors. 1.3% of ZIM Integrated Shipping Services shares are held by company insiders. Comparatively, 4.7% of Icon Energy shares are held by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, endowments and large money managers believe a stock will outperform the market over the long term.

Earnings and Valuation

This table compares ZIM Integrated Shipping Services and Icon Energy”s top-line revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
ZIM Integrated Shipping Services	$6.90 billion	0.41	$479.20 million	$0.81	28.96
Icon Energy	$11.26 million	0.09	-$4.20 million	($23.65)	-0.06

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

Summary

ZIM Integrated Shipping Services beats Icon Energy on 10 of the 14 factors compared between the two stocks.

About ZIM Integrated Shipping Services

ZIM Integrated Shipping Services Ltd., together with its subsidiaries, provides container shipping and related services in Israel and internationally. It provides door-to-door and port-to-port transportation services for various types of customers, including end-users, consolidators, and freight forwarders. The company also offers ZIMonitor, a premium reefer cargo tracking service. As of March 1, 2024, it operated a fleet of 150 vessels, which included 134 container vessels and 16 vehicle transport vessels; and as of December 31, 2023, it operated a network of 67 weekly lines. The company was incorporated in 1945 and is headquartered in Haifa, Israel.

About Icon Energy

Iconix Brand Group, Inc. is a brand management company. As of December 31, 2016, the Company owned a portfolio of over 30 global consumer brands across women’s, men’s, and home categories. The Company operates through segments: men’s, women’s, home and international. The Company’s brand portfolio includes brands, such as Candie’s, Bongo, Joe Boxer, Rampage, Mudd, London Fog, Mossimo, Ocean Pacific/OP, Danskin/Danskin Now, Rocawear/Roc Nation, Cannon, Royal Velvet, Fieldcrest, Charisma, Starter, Waverly, Ecko Unltd/Mark Ecko Cut & Sew, Zoo York, Umbro, Lee Cooper and Artful Dodger, and interests in Material Girl, Ed Hardy, Truth or Dare, Modern Amusement, Buffalo, Nick Graham Hydraulic and PONY brands. It operates in various geographic regions, including the United States, Japan and Other (which principally represent Latin America and Europe).