Critical Survey: Cool (NYSE:CLCO) and KNOT Offshore Partners (NYSE:KNOP)

Cool (NYSE:CLCO) and KNOT Offshore Partners (NYSE:KNOP) are both small-cap transportation companies, but which is the better stock? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their dividends, earnings, analyst recommendations, risk, profitability, valuation and institutional ownership.

Institutional and Insider Ownership

20.7% of Cool shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 14.8% of KNOT Offshore Partners shares are held by institutional investors. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, hedge funds and large money managers believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.

Earnings and Valuation

This table compares Cool and KNOT Offshore Partners’ top-line revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Cool	$161.96 million	3.34	$85.74 million	N/A	N/A
KNOT Offshore Partners	$284.43 million	0.74	$57.72 million	($0.58)	-10.71

Cool has higher earnings, but lower revenue than KNOT Offshore Partners.

Profitability

This table compares Cool and KNOT Offshore Partners’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Cool	N/A	N/A	N/A
KNOT Offshore Partners	-6.92%	5.36%	1.75%

Dividends

Cool pays an annual dividend of $1.64 per share and has a dividend yield of 12.1%. KNOT Offshore Partners pays an annual dividend of $0.10 per share and has a dividend yield of 1.6%. KNOT Offshore Partners pays out -17.2% of its earnings in the form of a dividend.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a summary of recent recommendations and price targets for Cool and KNOT Offshore Partners, as provided by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Cool	0	0	1	0	3.00
KNOT Offshore Partners	0	0	1	0	3.00

KNOT Offshore Partners has a consensus target price of $15.50, suggesting a potential upside of 149.60%. Given KNOT Offshore Partners’ higher possible upside, analysts clearly believe KNOT Offshore Partners is more favorable than Cool.

About Cool

Cool Company Ltd. engages in the ownership, operation, and management of liquefied natural gas carriers (LNGCs) that provides supply chain support solutions for energy industry. The company owns and operates a fleet of LNGCs, including tri-fuel diesel electric vessels; and floating storage and regasification units for third parties. Cool Company Ltd. was incorporated in 2018 and is headquartered in Hamilton, Bermuda.

About KNOT Offshore Partners

KNOT Offshore Partners LP owns, acquires, and operates shuttle tankers under long-term charters in the North Sea and Brazil. The company provides loading, transportation, discharge, and storage of crude oil under time charters and bareboat charters. The company was founded in 2013 and is headquartered in Aberdeen, the United Kingdom.