Euronav (NYSE:CMBT) and Navigator (NYSE:NVGS) Critical Comparison

Euronav (NYSE:CMBT) and Navigator (NYSE:NVGS) are both small-cap transportation companies, but which is the better business? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their valuation, institutional ownership, analyst recommendations, dividends, earnings, profitability and risk.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a summary of current ratings and target prices for Euronav and Navigator, as provided by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Euronav	0	0	0	0	0.00
Navigator	0	0	5	0	3.00

Navigator has a consensus price target of $21.60, indicating a potential upside of 70.62%. Given Navigator’s stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, analysts clearly believe Navigator is more favorable than Euronav.

Dividends

Euronav pays an annual dividend of $0.52 per share and has a dividend yield of 5.7%. Navigator pays an annual dividend of $0.20 per share and has a dividend yield of 1.6%. Euronav pays out 11.9% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Navigator pays out 16.7% 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. Euronav is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and lower payout ratio.

Insider & Institutional Ownership

19.0% of Navigator shares are held by institutional investors. 0.4% of Navigator shares are held by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, large money managers and endowments believe a company will outperform the market over the long term.

Volatility and Risk

Euronav has a beta of 0.05, indicating that its share price is 95% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Navigator has a beta of 1.07, indicating that its share price is 7% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Earnings and Valuation

This table compares Euronav and Navigator”s gross revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Euronav	$940.25 million	1.87	$858.03 million	$4.38	2.07
Navigator	$566.68 million	1.55	$82.25 million	$1.20	10.55

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

Profitability

This table compares Euronav and Navigator’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Euronav	117.02%	22.29%	10.17%
Navigator	14.48%	7.40%	4.23%

Summary

Euronav beats Navigator on 9 of the 16 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Euronav

Euronav NV, together with its subsidiaries, engages in the transportation and storage of crude oil worldwide. The company offers floating, storage, and offloading (FSO) services. It also owns and operates a fleet of vessels. The company was incorporated in 2003 and is headquartered in Antwerp, Belgium. As of March 15, 2024, Euronav NV operates as subsidiary of CMB NV.

About Navigator

Navigator Holdings Ltd. engages in owning and operating a fleet of liquefied gas carriers worldwide. It provides international and regional seaborne transportation services of petrochemical gases, liquefied petroleum gases, and ammonia for energy companies, industrial users, and commodity traders. The company also offers ship shore infrastructure and consultancy services. It operates a fleet of 56 semi- or fully-refrigerated liquefied gas carriers. The company was formerly known as Isle of Man public limited company and changed its name to Navigator Holdings Ltd. in 2006. Navigator Holdings Ltd. was incorporated in 1997 and is based in London, the United Kingdom.