Scorpio Bulkers (NYSE: SALT) and Diana Shipping inc. (NYSE:DSX) are both small-cap transportation companies, but which is the better business? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their valuation, dividends, earnings, analyst recommendations, profitability, institutional ownership and risk.
Insider & Institutional Ownership
50.8% of Scorpio Bulkers shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 34.7% of Diana Shipping inc. shares are owned by institutional investors. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, large money managers and endowments believe a company will outperform the market over the long term.
Analyst Ratings
This is a breakdown of recent ratings and target prices for Scorpio Bulkers and Diana Shipping inc., as provided by MarketBeat.
| Sell Ratings | Hold Ratings | Buy Ratings | Strong Buy Ratings | Rating Score | |
| Scorpio Bulkers | 0 | 2 | 4 | 0 | 2.67 |
| Diana Shipping inc. | 1 | 5 | 2 | 0 | 2.13 |
Scorpio Bulkers currently has a consensus price target of $9.54, suggesting a potential upside of 29.82%. Diana Shipping inc. has a consensus price target of $4.65, suggesting a potential upside of 16.25%. Given Scorpio Bulkers’ stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, analysts clearly believe Scorpio Bulkers is more favorable than Diana Shipping inc..
Valuation & Earnings
This table compares Scorpio Bulkers and Diana Shipping inc.’s revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.
| Gross Revenue | Price/Sales Ratio | EBITDA | Earnings Per Share | Price/Earnings Ratio | |
| Scorpio Bulkers | $123.25 million | 4.28 | $610,000.00 | ($1.26) | -5.83 |
| Diana Shipping inc. | $124.18 million | 3.11 | -$403,499.00 | ($1.90) | -2.11 |
Scorpio Bulkers has higher revenue, but lower earnings than Diana Shipping inc.. Scorpio Bulkers is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Diana Shipping inc., indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.
Profitability
This table compares Scorpio Bulkers and Diana Shipping inc.’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.
| Net Margins | Return on Equity | Return on Assets | |
| Scorpio Bulkers | -72.87% | -7.52% | -4.58% |
| Diana Shipping inc. | -122.29% | -14.80% | -9.26% |
Risk and Volatility
Scorpio Bulkers has a beta of 3.68, suggesting that its share price is 268% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Diana Shipping inc. has a beta of 1.52, suggesting that its share price is 52% more volatile than the S&P 500.
Summary
Scorpio Bulkers beats Diana Shipping inc. on 11 of the 12 factors compared between the two stocks.
Scorpio Bulkers Company Profile
Scorpio Bulkers Inc. is a shipping company. The Company owns and operates newbuilding drybulk carriers with fuel-efficient specifications and carrying capacities of greater than 30,000 deadweight tons (dwt). The Company operates through two segments: Kamsarmax and Ultramax. Its Kamsarmax segment includes vessels ranging from approximately 77,500 DWT to 98,700 DWT. Its Ultramax segment includes vessels ranging from approximately 60,200 DWT to 64,000 DWT. All of its owned vessels have carrying capacities of greater than 60,000 dwt. Its vessels transport a range of bulk commodities, including ores, coal, grains and fertilizers, along shipping routes, and are employed primarily in the spot market or in spot market-oriented pools of similarly sized vessels. As of December 31, 2016, its operating fleet of 48 vessels consisted of 47 drybulk vessels and one chartered-in drybulk vessel. It also has a contract for the construction of one newbuilding drybulk vessel.
Diana Shipping inc. Company Profile
Diana Shipping Inc. is a holding company. The Company is a provider of shipping transportation services. The Company specializes in the ownership of dry bulk vessels. As of February 16, 2017, the Company’s operating fleet consisted of 48 dry bulk carriers, of which 23 were Panamax, four were Kamsarmax, three were Post-Panamax, 14 were Capesize and four were Newcastlemax vessels, having a combined carrying capacity of approximately 5.7 million deadweight tonnage (dwt). As of February 16, 2017, the Company’s fleet included Danae, Dione, Nirefs, Alcyon, Triton, Thetis, Protefs, Calipso, Clio, Erato, Coronis, Melite, Leto, Artemis, Selina, Atalandi, Maia, Medusa, Norfolk, Aliki, Semirio, Boston, Seattle, Santa Barbara, New Orleans, Los Angeles, San Francisco and Newport News. The Company charters its dry bulk carriers to customers primarily pursuant to time charters.
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