Financial Review: Icon Energy (NASDAQ:ICON) and Tsakos Energy Navigation (NYSE:TEN)

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

Volatility & Risk

Icon Energy has a beta of 5.39, indicating that its share price is 439% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Tsakos Energy Navigation has a beta of -0.27, indicating that its share price is 127% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Profitability

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

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Icon Energy	N/A	N/A	N/A
Tsakos Energy Navigation	20.15%	17.26%	8.11%

Dividends

Icon Energy pays an annual dividend of $0.35 per share and has a dividend yield of 23.3%. Tsakos Energy Navigation pays an annual dividend of $1.00 per share and has a dividend yield of 2.4%. Icon Energy pays out -1.5% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Tsakos Energy Navigation pays out 22.4% 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. Icon Energy is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and lower payout ratio.

Analyst Ratings

This is a breakdown of current ratings and target prices for Icon Energy and Tsakos Energy Navigation, as provided by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Icon Energy	0	0	0	0	0.00
Tsakos Energy Navigation	0	3	1	0	2.25

Tsakos Energy Navigation has a consensus price target of $29.50, suggesting a potential downside of 30.39%. Given Tsakos Energy Navigation’s stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, analysts plainly believe Tsakos Energy Navigation is more favorable than Icon Energy.

Valuation & Earnings

This table compares Icon Energy and Tsakos Energy Navigation”s gross revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Icon Energy	$11.26 million	0.09	-$4.20 million	($23.65)	-0.06
Tsakos Energy Navigation	$798.69 million	1.60	$160.90 million	$4.46	9.50

Tsakos Energy Navigation has higher revenue and earnings than Icon Energy. Icon Energy 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.

Institutional and Insider Ownership

19.2% of Tsakos Energy Navigation shares are owned by institutional investors. 4.7% of Icon Energy shares are owned by insiders. Comparatively, 1.4% of Tsakos Energy Navigation shares are owned by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, large money managers and hedge funds believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Summary

Tsakos Energy Navigation beats Icon Energy on 12 of the 16 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Icon Energy

Iconix Brand Group, Inc. is a brand management company. As of December 31, 2016, the Company owned a portfolio of over 30 global consumer brands across women’s, men’s, and home categories. The Company operates through segments: men’s, women’s, home and international. The Company’s brand portfolio includes brands, such as Candie’s, Bongo, Joe Boxer, Rampage, Mudd, London Fog, Mossimo, Ocean Pacific/OP, Danskin/Danskin Now, Rocawear/Roc Nation, Cannon, Royal Velvet, Fieldcrest, Charisma, Starter, Waverly, Ecko Unltd/Mark Ecko Cut & Sew, Zoo York, Umbro, Lee Cooper and Artful Dodger, and interests in Material Girl, Ed Hardy, Truth or Dare, Modern Amusement, Buffalo, Nick Graham Hydraulic and PONY brands. It operates in various geographic regions, including the United States, Japan and Other (which principally represent Latin America and Europe).

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.