Kinetik (NYSE:KNTK) vs. StealthGas (NASDAQ:GASS) Financial Contrast

StealthGas (NASDAQ:GASS) and Kinetik (NYSE:KNTK) are both energy companies, but which is the better investment? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their profitability, risk, institutional ownership, earnings, analyst recommendations, valuation and dividends.

Earnings & Valuation

This table compares StealthGas and Kinetik”s revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
StealthGas	$173.16 million	1.93	$60.65 million	$1.59	5.58
Kinetik	$1.76 billion	4.71	$525.93 million	$2.76	18.54

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

Analyst Recommendations

This is a summary of current ratings for StealthGas and Kinetik, as reported by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
StealthGas	0	1	0	0	2.00
Kinetik	0	6	11	2	2.79

Kinetik has a consensus price target of $54.00, indicating a potential upside of 5.51%. Given Kinetik’s stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, analysts clearly believe Kinetik is more favorable than StealthGas.

Risk & Volatility

StealthGas has a beta of 0.25, meaning that its stock price is 75% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Kinetik has a beta of 0.57, meaning that its stock price is 43% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Profitability

This table compares StealthGas and Kinetik’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
StealthGas	34.97%	7.87%	7.60%
Kinetik	26.19%	-38.96%	7.07%

Institutional and Insider Ownership

66.3% of StealthGas shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 21.1% of Kinetik shares are held by institutional investors. 22.1% of StealthGas shares are held by company insiders. Comparatively, 3.6% of Kinetik shares are held by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, hedge funds and endowments believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.

Summary

Kinetik beats StealthGas on 10 of the 15 factors compared between the two stocks.

About StealthGas

StealthGas Inc., together with its subsidiaries, provides seaborne transportation services to liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) producers and users worldwide. The company's carriers carry various petroleum gas products in liquefied form, including propane, butane, butadiene, isopropane, propylene, and vinyl chloride monomer, as well as ammonia; refined petroleum products, such as gasoline, diesel, fuel oil, and jet fuel; and edible oils and chemicals. It offers crude oil and natural gas. The company operates a fleet of 33 LPG carries, including six JV vessels. StealthGas Inc. was incorporated in 2004 and is based in Athens, Greece.

About Kinetik

Kinetik Holdings Inc. operates as a midstream company in the Texas Delaware Basin. It provides gathering, transportation, compression, processing, and treating services for companies that produce natural gas, natural gas liquids, crude oil, and water. The company is headquartered in Midland, Texas.