Critical Comparison: Navios Maritime Holdings (NM) & Rand Logistics (RLOG)

Navios Maritime Holdings (NYSE: NM) and Rand Logistics (NASDAQ:RLOG) are both small-cap transportation companies, but which is the superior stock? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their risk, earnings, dividends, profitabiliy, valuation, analyst recommendations and institutional ownership.

Analyst Ratings

This is a summary of current recommendations for Navios Maritime Holdings and Rand Logistics, as provided by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Navios Maritime Holdings	1	1	0	0	1.50
Rand Logistics	0	0	0	0	N/A

Navios Maritime Holdings presently has a consensus price target of $1.25, indicating a potential upside of 5.04%. Given Navios Maritime Holdings’ higher possible upside, equities analysts plainly believe Navios Maritime Holdings is more favorable than Rand Logistics.

Insider and Institutional Ownership

19.7% of Navios Maritime Holdings shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 44.8% of Rand Logistics shares are held by institutional investors. 13.1% of Rand Logistics shares are held by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, large money managers and endowments believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Profitability

This table compares Navios Maritime Holdings and Rand Logistics’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Navios Maritime Holdings	-20.55%	-13.28%	-4.27%
Rand Logistics	-15.79%	-76.58%	-5.56%

Risk and Volatility

Navios Maritime Holdings has a beta of 2.94, indicating that its stock price is 194% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Rand Logistics has a beta of 1.38, indicating that its stock price is 38% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Valuation and Earnings

This table compares Navios Maritime Holdings and Rand Logistics’ top-line revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	EBITDA	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Navios Maritime Holdings	$435.26 million	0.32	$79.40 million	($0.80)	-1.49
Rand Logistics	$115.45 million	0.05	$23.74 million	($1.08)	-0.30

Navios Maritime Holdings has higher revenue and earnings than Rand Logistics. Navios Maritime Holdings is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Rand Logistics, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Summary

Navios Maritime Holdings beats Rand Logistics on 8 of the 11 factors compared between the two stocks.

Navios Maritime Holdings Company Profile

Navios Maritime Holdings Inc. (Navios Holdings) is a global, vertically integrated seaborne shipping and logistics company. The Company is focused on the transport and transshipment of dry bulk commodities, including iron ore, coal and grain. It operates through two segments: the Dry bulk Vessel Operations and the Logistics Business. The Dry bulk Vessel Operations segment consists of the transportation and handling of bulk cargoes through the ownership, operation and trading of vessels, freight and forward freight agreements (FFAs). The Logistics Business segment consists of port terminal business, barge business and cabotage business in the Hidrovia region of South America. Navios Holdings also offers commercial and technical management services to the fleets of Navios Maritime Partners L.P., Navios Maritime Acquisition Corporation, Navios Maritime Midstream Partners L.P., Navios Europe Inc. and Navios Europe (II) Inc.

Rand Logistics Company Profile

Rand Logistics, Inc. is a shipping company that, through its operating subsidiaries, is engaged in the operation of bulk carriers on the Great Lakes. The Company’s shipping business is operated in Canada by Lower Lakes Towing Ltd. (Lower Lakes Towing) and in the United States by Lower Lakes Transportation Company (Lower Lakes Transportation). The Company transports construction aggregates, salt, grain, coal, iron ore, and other dry bulk commodities for customers in the construction, electric utility, food, and integrated steel industries. Lower Lakes’ fleet consists of approximately six self-unloading bulk carriers and over four conventional bulk carriers in Canada and approximately six self-unloading bulk carriers in the United States, including over three articulated tug and barge units. Lower Lakes Towing owns approximately nine Canadian vessels and Lower Lakes Towing (17) Ltd. (Lower Lakes (17)) owns the tenth Canadian vessel.