Okeanis Eco Tankers (NYSE:ECO – Get Free Report) and Diana Shipping (NYSE:DSX – Get Free Report) are both small-cap transportation companies, but which is the superior investment? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their institutional ownership, profitability, earnings, risk, valuation, dividends and analyst recommendations.
Dividends
Okeanis Eco Tankers pays an annual dividend of $1.76 per share and has a dividend yield of 8.4%. Diana Shipping pays an annual dividend of $0.04 per share and has a dividend yield of 2.1%. Okeanis Eco Tankers pays out 48.5% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Diana Shipping pays out 133.3% of its earnings in the form of a dividend, suggesting it may not have sufficient earnings to cover its dividend payment in the future. Okeanis Eco Tankers is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and lower payout ratio.
Profitability
This table compares Okeanis Eco Tankers and Diana Shipping’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.
| Net Margins | Return on Equity | Return on Assets | |
| Okeanis Eco Tankers | 29.25% | 27.19% | 10.14% |
| Diana Shipping | 5.36% | 4.42% | 1.89% |
Earnings and Valuation
| Gross Revenue | Price/Sales Ratio | Net Income | Earnings Per Share | Price/Earnings Ratio | |
| Okeanis Eco Tankers | $413.10 million | 1.62 | $145.25 million | $3.63 | 5.74 |
| Diana Shipping | $231.15 million | 1.02 | $49.84 million | $0.03 | 62.50 |
Okeanis Eco Tankers has higher revenue and earnings than Diana Shipping. Okeanis Eco Tankers is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Diana Shipping, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.
Analyst Ratings
This is a breakdown of recent ratings and price targets for Okeanis Eco Tankers and Diana Shipping, as reported by MarketBeat.com.
| Sell Ratings | Hold Ratings | Buy Ratings | Strong Buy Ratings | Rating Score | |
| Okeanis Eco Tankers | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 3.00 |
| Diana Shipping | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2.00 |
Okeanis Eco Tankers currently has a consensus target price of $44.00, indicating a potential upside of 111.03%. Diana Shipping has a consensus target price of $3.00, indicating a potential upside of 60.00%. Given Okeanis Eco Tankers’ stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, equities research analysts clearly believe Okeanis Eco Tankers is more favorable than Diana Shipping.
Insider and Institutional Ownership
48.7% of Diana Shipping shares are held by institutional investors. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, endowments and hedge funds believe a company is poised for long-term growth.
Summary
Okeanis Eco Tankers beats Diana Shipping on 12 of the 14 factors compared between the two stocks.
About Okeanis Eco Tankers
Okeanis Eco Tankers Corp., a shipping company, owns and operates tanker vessels worldwide. It operates a fleet of 14 tanker vessels comprising six modern Suezmax tankers and eight modern VLCC tankers focusing on the transportation of crude oil. The company was incorporated in 2018 and is based in Neo Faliro, Greece.
About Diana Shipping
Diana Shipping Inc. provides shipping transportation services. The company transports a range of dry bulk cargoes, including commodities, such as iron ore, coal, grain, and other materials in shipping routes worldwide. As of March 1, 2024, it operated a fleet of 38 dry bulk vessels, including 4 Newcastlemax, 8 Capesize, 5 Post-Panamax, 6 Kamsarmax, 9 Ultramax, and 6 Panamax. The company was formerly known as Diana Shipping Investments Corp. and changed its name to Diana Shipping Inc. in February 2005. Diana Shipping Inc. was incorporated in 1999 and is based in Athens, Greece.
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