Comparing Navigator (NYSE:NVGS) & Shell (NYSE:SHEL)

Shell (NYSE:SHEL) and Navigator (NYSE:NVGS) are both energy companies, but which is the superior investment? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their dividends, valuation, earnings, institutional ownership, risk, analyst recommendations and profitability.

Analyst Ratings

This is a breakdown of recent ratings and target prices for Shell and Navigator, as reported by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Shell	0	9	7	2	2.61
Navigator	0	1	4	0	2.80

Shell currently has a consensus price target of $106.63, suggesting a potential upside of 0.11%. Navigator has a consensus price target of $23.00, suggesting a potential upside of 7.96%. Given Navigator’s stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, analysts plainly believe Navigator is more favorable than Shell.

Insider & Institutional Ownership

28.6% of Shell shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 19.0% of Navigator shares are held by institutional investors. 1.0% of Shell shares are held by insiders. Comparatively, 0.4% of Navigator shares are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, large money managers and hedge funds believe a company will outperform the market over the long term.

Volatility & Risk

Shell has a beta of 0.1, indicating that its stock price is 90% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Navigator has a beta of 0.48, indicating that its stock price is 52% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Dividends

Shell pays an annual dividend of $3.12 per share and has a dividend yield of 2.9%. Navigator pays an annual dividend of $0.28 per share and has a dividend yield of 1.3%. Shell pays out 34.4% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Navigator pays out 12.9% 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. Navigator has increased its dividend for 1 consecutive years.

Profitability

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

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Shell	8.55%	14.34%	6.74%
Navigator	22.80%	10.45%	5.73%

Valuation and Earnings

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

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Shell	$273.73 billion	1.11	$17.84 billion	$9.06	11.76
Navigator	$586.96 million	2.23	$100.12 million	$2.17	9.82

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

Summary

Shell beats Navigator on 11 of the 18 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Shell

Shell plc operates as an energy and petrochemical company Europe, Asia, Oceania, Africa, the United States, and Rest of the Americas. The company operates through Integrated Gas, Upstream, Marketing, Chemicals and Products, and Renewables and Energy Solutions segments. It explores for and extracts crude oil, natural gas, and natural gas liquids; markets and transports oil and gas; produces gas-to-liquids fuels and other products; and operates upstream and midstream infrastructure to deliver gas to market. The company also markets and trades natural gas, liquefied natural gas (LNG), crude oil, electricity, carbon-emission rights; and markets and sells LNG as a fuel for heavy-duty vehicles. In addition, it trades in and refines crude oil and other feed stocks, such as low-carbon fuels, lubricants, bitumen, sulphur, gasoline, diesel, aviation fuel, and marine fuel; produces and sells petrochemicals for industrial use; and manages oil sands activities. Further, the company produces base chemicals comprising ethylene, propylene, and aromatics, as well as intermediate chemicals, such as styrene monomer, propylene oxide, solvents, detergent alcohols, ethylene oxide, and ethylene glycol. Additionally, it generates electricity through wind and solar resources; produces and sells hydrogen; and provides electric vehicle charging services. The company was formerly known as Royal Dutch Shell plc and changed its name to Shell plc in January 2022. Shell plc was founded in 1907 and is headquartered in London, the United Kingdom.

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.