Hess Midstream Partners (NASDAQ: HESM) and Navigator Holdings (NYSE:NVGS) are both small-cap energy companies, but which is the superior stock? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their earnings, analyst recommendations, valuation, dividends, risk, profitabiliy and institutional ownership.
Analyst Recommendations
This is a breakdown of recent ratings for Hess Midstream Partners and Navigator Holdings, as provided by MarketBeat.
| Sell Ratings | Hold Ratings | Buy Ratings | Strong Buy Ratings | Rating Score | |
| Hess Midstream Partners | 0 | 2 | 3 | 0 | 2.60 |
| Navigator Holdings | 1 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 2.60 |
Hess Midstream Partners presently has a consensus target price of $29.40, indicating a potential upside of 47.07%. Navigator Holdings has a consensus target price of $13.33, indicating a potential upside of 30.08%. Given Hess Midstream Partners’ higher possible upside, research analysts clearly believe Hess Midstream Partners is more favorable than Navigator Holdings.
Earnings and Valuation
This table compares Hess Midstream Partners and Navigator Holdings’ gross revenue, earnings per share and valuation.
| Gross Revenue | Price/Sales Ratio | EBITDA | Earnings Per Share | Price/Earnings Ratio | |
| Hess Midstream Partners | $540.50 million | 2.02 | $357.80 million | N/A | N/A |
| Navigator Holdings | $295.06 million | 1.93 | $123.49 million | $0.51 | 20.10 |
Hess Midstream Partners has higher revenue and earnings than Navigator Holdings.
Profitability
This table compares Hess Midstream Partners and Navigator Holdings’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.
| Net Margins | Return on Equity | Return on Assets | |
| Hess Midstream Partners | 48.43% | N/A | N/A |
| Navigator Holdings | 9.48% | 3.23% | 1.81% |
Institutional & Insider Ownership
68.7% of Navigator Holdings shares are held by institutional investors. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, large money managers and endowments believe a stock will outperform the market over the long term.
About Hess Midstream Partners
Hess Midstream Partners LP is a fee-based, traditional master limited partnership formed to own, operate, develop and acquire a set of midstream assets to provide services to Hess and third-party crude oil and natural gas producers. The Company’s assets are primarily located in the Bakken and Three Forks shale plays in the Williston Basin area of North Dakota (collectively referred as the Bakken). It operates its business through three segments: gathering; processing and storage; and terminaling and export. The Company’s gathering business consisted of its 20% controlling economic interest in Gathering Opco, which owns North Dakota natural gas, natural gas liquids and crude oil gathering systems. The Company’s processing and storage business consisted of its 20% controlling economic interest in the Tioga Gas Plant and its 100% interest in the Mentor Storage Terminal. The Company’s terminaling and export business consisted of its 20% controlling economic interest in Logistics Opco.
About Navigator Holdings
Navigator Holdings Ltd. is an owner and operator of a fleet of handysize liquefied gas carriers. The Company provides international and regional seaborne transportation services of liquefied petroleum gas (LPG), petrochemical gases and ammonia. As of December 31, 2016, it had 33 semi- or fully-refrigerated handysize liquefied gas carriers. Its handysize liquefied gas carriers are liquefied gas carriers with capabilities between 15,000 and 24,999 cubic meter (cbm). Its handysize liquefied gas carriers can accommodate medium- and long-haul routes. In addition, it had four midsize 37,300 cbm ethylene-capable semi-refrigerated liquefied gas carriers as of December 31, 2016. Its midsize ethylene-capable semi-refrigerated gas carriers enable long-haul transportation of ethane/ethylene. As of December 31, 2016, it also had one 38,000 cbm fully refrigerated gas carrier. The Company carries LPG for international energy companies, state-owned utilities and commodities traders.
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