Head to Head Analysis: Tsakos Energy Navigation (NYSE:TEN) and Capital Clean Energy Carriers (NASDAQ:CCEC)

Capital Clean Energy Carriers (NASDAQ:CCEC) and Tsakos Energy Navigation (NYSE:TEN) are both small-cap transportation companies, but which is the better stock? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their earnings, valuation, profitability, analyst recommendations, institutional ownership, risk and dividends.

Dividends

Capital Clean Energy Carriers pays an annual dividend of $0.60 per share and has a dividend yield of 3.0%. Tsakos Energy Navigation pays an annual dividend of $1.80 per share and has a dividend yield of 10.4%. Capital Clean Energy Carriers pays out 23.4% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Tsakos Energy Navigation pays out 35.6% 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.

Profitability

This table compares Capital Clean Energy Carriers and Tsakos Energy Navigation’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Capital Clean Energy Carriers	46.85%	9.76%	3.16%
Tsakos Energy Navigation	22.57%	19.07%	9.04%

Risk and Volatility

Capital Clean Energy Carriers has a beta of 0.3, meaning that its stock price is 70% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Tsakos Energy Navigation has a beta of -0.25, meaning that its stock price is 125% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Institutional & Insider Ownership

19.2% of Tsakos Energy Navigation shares are owned by institutional investors. 1.4% of Tsakos Energy Navigation 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.

Valuation and Earnings

This table compares Capital Clean Energy Carriers and Tsakos Energy Navigation”s top-line revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Capital Clean Energy Carriers	$369.41 million	3.18	$193.63 million	$2.56	7.86
Tsakos Energy Navigation	$804.06 million	0.65	$300.18 million	$5.05	3.43

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

Analyst Ratings

This is a breakdown of recent recommendations for Capital Clean Energy Carriers and Tsakos Energy Navigation, as provided by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Capital Clean Energy Carriers	0	1	2	0	2.67
Tsakos Energy Navigation	0	1	1	1	3.00

Capital Clean Energy Carriers presently has a consensus price target of $24.00, indicating a potential upside of 19.34%. Tsakos Energy Navigation has a consensus price target of $31.00, indicating a potential upside of 79.14%. Given Tsakos Energy Navigation’s stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, analysts plainly believe Tsakos Energy Navigation is more favorable than Capital Clean Energy Carriers.

Summary

Tsakos Energy Navigation beats Capital Clean Energy Carriers on 11 of the 17 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Capital Clean Energy Carriers

Capital Clean Energy Carriers Corp., a shipping company, provides marine transportation services in Greece. The company’s vessels provide a range of cargoes, including liquefied natural gas, containerized goods, and cargo under short-term voyage charters, and medium to long-term time charters. It owns vessels, including Neo-Panamax container vessels, Panamax container vessels, cape-size bulk carrier, and LNG carriers. In addition, the company produces and distributes oil and natural gas, including biofuels, motor oil, lubricants, petrol, crudes, liquefied natural gas, marine fuels, natural gas liquids, and petrochemicals. It serves as the general partner of the company. The company was formerly known as Capital Product Partners L.P. and changed its name to Capital Clean Energy Carriers Corp. in August 2024. Capital Clean Energy Carriers Corp. was incorporated in 2007 and is headquartered in Piraeus, Greece. Capital Clean Energy Carriers Corp. operates as a subsidiary of Capital Maritime & Trading Corp.

About Tsakos Energy Navigation

Tsakos Energy Navigation Ltd. engages in the provision of seaborne crude oil and petroleum product transportation services. Its activities include the operation of crude tankers, product tankers, and liquefied natural gas carriers. The company was founded by Nikolas P. Tsakos and Michael Gordon Jolliffee in July 1993 and is headquartered in Athens, Greece.