Reviewing Castor Maritime (NASDAQ:CTRM) & Icon Energy (NASDAQ:ICON)

Castor Maritime (NASDAQ:CTRM) and Icon Energy (NASDAQ:ICON) are both small-cap industrials companies, but which is the better stock? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their dividends, institutional ownership, risk, valuation, earnings, profitability and analyst recommendations.

Profitability

This table compares Castor Maritime and Icon Energy’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Castor Maritime	103.17%	3.34%	2.50%
Icon Energy	N/A	N/A	N/A

Institutional & Insider Ownership

1.1% of Castor Maritime shares are held by institutional investors. 4.7% of Icon Energy shares are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, endowments and large money managers believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.

Risk and Volatility

Castor Maritime has a beta of 1.21, meaning that its share price is 21% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Icon Energy has a beta of 5.59, meaning that its share price is 459% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a summary of recent ratings and target prices for Castor Maritime and Icon Energy, as reported by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Castor Maritime	1	0	0	0	1.00
Icon Energy	0	0	0	0	0.00

Earnings & Valuation

This table compares Castor Maritime and Icon Energy”s top-line revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Castor Maritime	$81.81 million	0.28	$19.27 million	$1.40	1.67
Icon Energy	$11.26 million	0.06	-$4.20 million	($24.60)	-0.04

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

Summary

Castor Maritime beats Icon Energy on 10 of the 12 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Castor Maritime

Castor Maritime Inc. provides shipping services worldwide. The company operates through Dry Bulk Vessels and Containerships segments. It offers seaborne transportation services for dry bulk cargo; and commodities, such as iron ore, coal, soybeans, etc. As of December 31, 2023, the company owned and operated a fleet of 17 vessels primarily consisting of one Capesize, five Kamsarmax, two Handysize tanker vessels, and nine Panamax dry bulk vessels, as well as two 2,700 TEU containership vessels. Castor Maritime Inc. was incorporated in 2017 and is based in Limassol, Cyprus.

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).