Contrasting Tsakos Energy Navigation (NYSE:TEN) and OceanPal (NASDAQ:OP)

OceanPal (NASDAQ:OP) 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 institutional ownership, earnings, risk, profitability, dividends, analyst recommendations and valuation.

Risk & Volatility

OceanPal has a beta of 0.52, meaning that its share price is 48% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Tsakos Energy Navigation has a beta of -0.31, meaning that its share price is 131% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Institutional and Insider Ownership

19.2% of Tsakos Energy Navigation shares are held by institutional investors. 1.4% of Tsakos Energy Navigation shares are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, hedge funds and large money managers believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Valuation & Earnings

This table compares OceanPal 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
OceanPal	$5.27 billion	0.00	-$1.98 million	($1.89)	-0.44
Tsakos Energy Navigation	$836.04 million	0.60	$300.18 million	$5.05	3.38

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

Profitability

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

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
OceanPal	-37.37%	-10.69%	-10.06%
Tsakos Energy Navigation	22.57%	19.07%	9.04%

Dividends

OceanPal pays an annual dividend of $2.00 per share and has a dividend yield of 241.0%. Tsakos Energy Navigation pays an annual dividend of $1.80 per share and has a dividend yield of 10.5%. OceanPal pays out -105.8% 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. OceanPal is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and lower payout ratio.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a summary of current ratings and recommmendations for OceanPal and Tsakos Energy Navigation, as reported by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
OceanPal	0	0	0	0	0.00
Tsakos Energy Navigation	0	1	1	1	3.00

Tsakos Energy Navigation has a consensus target price of $31.00, suggesting a potential upside of 81.39%. Given Tsakos Energy Navigation’s stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, analysts clearly believe Tsakos Energy Navigation is more favorable than OceanPal.

Summary

Tsakos Energy Navigation beats OceanPal on 13 of the 17 factors compared between the two stocks.

About OceanPal

OceanPal Inc. provides ocean-going transportation services worldwide. The company owns and operates dry bulk carriers that transport major bulks, such as iron ore, coal, and grains, as well as minor bulks, including bauxite, phosphate, and fertilizers. As of December 31, 2023, its fleet consisted of five dry bulk carriers, which include three Panamaxes and two Capesize vessels with a cargo carrying capacity of approximately 572,599 deadweight tons. The company was incorporated in 2021 and is based in Athens, Greece.

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.