Financial Contrast: Danaos (NYSE:DAC) & Tsakos Energy Navigation (NYSE:TEN)

Tsakos Energy Navigation (NYSE:TEN) and Danaos (NYSE:DAC) are both industrials companies, but which is the better business? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their earnings, risk, dividends, institutional ownership, profitability, valuation and analyst recommendations.

Dividends

Tsakos Energy Navigation pays an annual dividend of $2.00 per share and has a dividend yield of 4.3%. Danaos pays an annual dividend of $4.00 per share and has a dividend yield of 2.7%. Tsakos Energy Navigation pays out 20.3% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Danaos pays out 13.5% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Both companies have healthy payout ratios and should be able to cover their dividend payments with earnings for the next several years. Danaos has increased its dividend for 3 consecutive years.

Insider and Institutional Ownership

19.2% of Tsakos Energy Navigation shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 19.0% of Danaos shares are owned by institutional investors. 1.0% of Tsakos Energy Navigation shares are owned by insiders. Comparatively, 41.0% of Danaos shares are owned by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, endowments and hedge funds believe a stock will outperform the market over the long term.

Earnings and Valuation

This table compares Tsakos Energy Navigation and Danaos”s revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Tsakos Energy Navigation	$798.69 million	1.74	$160.90 million	$9.87	4.67
Danaos	$1.06 billion	2.59	$494.61 million	$29.55	5.09

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

Volatility and Risk

Tsakos Energy Navigation has a beta of -0.03, meaning that its share price is 103% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Danaos has a beta of 0.94, meaning that its share price is 6% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Analyst Ratings

This is a summary of recent ratings and price targets for Tsakos Energy Navigation and Danaos, as provided by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Tsakos Energy Navigation	0	1	2	0	2.67
Danaos	0	0	0	3	4.00

Tsakos Energy Navigation currently has a consensus price target of $29.50, indicating a potential downside of 35.99%. Given Tsakos Energy Navigation’s higher probable upside, equities research analysts plainly believe Tsakos Energy Navigation is more favorable than Danaos.

Profitability

This table compares Tsakos Energy Navigation and Danaos’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Tsakos Energy Navigation	33.81%	29.44%	13.76%
Danaos	51.26%	13.20%	10.08%

Summary

Danaos beats Tsakos Energy Navigation on 12 of the 18 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Tsakos Energy Navigation

Tsakos Energy Navigation Ltd. is an international maritime transportation company focused on owning and operating a fleet of tankers. Its vessels carry crude oil and refined petroleum products, and the fleet also includes specialized vessels such as shuttle tankers and liquefied natural gas carriers. The company was established in 1993 and serves customers around the world, including oil and energy companies. Its vessels operate on both long-term and shorter-term charter arrangements, transporting energy cargoes across major international shipping routes.

About Danaos

Danaos Corporation is an international owner and operator of containerships that charters its vessels to major liner companies. Its ships support global cargo transportation, while the company provides vessel operations and technical management services. Founded in 1972, Danaos has grown from a family shipping business into a major independent containership owner. It has also expanded into dry bulk shipping, with vessels serving the seaborne transport of commodities. Headquartered in Piraeus, Greece, Danaos serves customers involved in international trade across global shipping routes.