Contrasting BW LPG (NYSE:BWLP) & KNOT Offshore Partners (NYSE:KNOP)

KNOT Offshore Partners (NYSE:KNOP) and BW LPG (NYSE:BWLP) are both small-cap transportation companies, but which is the better investment? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their risk, institutional ownership, analyst recommendations, earnings, profitability, valuation and dividends.

Analyst Ratings

This is a breakdown of current ratings and target prices for KNOT Offshore Partners and BW LPG, as reported by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
KNOT Offshore Partners	0	5	0	0	2.00
BW LPG	0	1	2	0	2.67

Institutional and Insider Ownership

26.8% of KNOT Offshore Partners shares are held by institutional investors. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, hedge funds and large money managers believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Dividends

KNOT Offshore Partners pays an annual dividend of $0.10 per share and has a dividend yield of 0.9%. BW LPG pays an annual dividend of $1.60 per share and has a dividend yield of 12.6%. KNOT Offshore Partners pays out 6.5% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. BW LPG pays out 141.6% of its earnings in the form of a dividend, suggesting it may not have sufficient earnings to cover its dividend payment in the future.

Profitability

This table compares KNOT Offshore Partners and BW LPG’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
KNOT Offshore Partners	14.69%	9.00%	2.93%
BW LPG	4.57%	8.78%	5.04%

Valuation & Earnings

This table compares KNOT Offshore Partners and BW LPG”s top-line revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
KNOT Offshore Partners	$318.60 million	1.14	$13.93 million	$1.55	6.85
BW LPG	$3.56 billion	0.47	$354.30 million	$1.13	11.24

BW LPG has higher revenue and earnings than KNOT Offshore Partners. KNOT Offshore Partners is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than BW LPG, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Summary

BW LPG beats KNOT Offshore Partners on 7 of the 13 factors compared between the two stocks.

About KNOT Offshore Partners

KNOT Offshore Partners LP acquires, owns, and operates shuttle tankers under long-term charters in the North Sea and Brazil. The company provides loading, transportation, and discharge of crude oil under time charters and bareboat charters. The company was founded in 2013 and is headquartered in Aberdeen, the United Kingdom.

About BW LPG

BW LPG Limited, an investment holding company, engages in ship owning and chartering activities worldwide. The company operates through Shipping and Product Services segments. The company involved in the transportation of liquefied petroleum gas to oil companies, and trading and utility companies. It also offers integrated liquified petroleum gas (LPG) delivery services and support; wholesale and trade of LPG; and management services. It owns and operates LPG vessels and a fleet of very large gas carriers. The company was formerly known as BW Gas LPG Holding Limited and changed its name to BW LPG Limited in September 2013. BW LPG Limited was founded in 1935 and is headquartered in Singapore.