Critical Contrast: Odyssey Marine Exploration (NASDAQ:OMEX) and Scorpio Tankers (NYSE:STNG)

Odyssey Marine Exploration (NASDAQ:OMEX) and Scorpio Tankers (NYSE:STNG) are both transportation companies, but which is the superior stock? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their analyst recommendations, profitability, institutional ownership, risk, dividends, valuation and earnings.

Profitability

This table compares Odyssey Marine Exploration and Scorpio Tankers’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Odyssey Marine Exploration	174.35%	-14.85%	-6.05%
Scorpio Tankers	39.18%	8.08%	6.01%

Institutional and Insider Ownership

50.0% of Odyssey Marine Exploration shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 54.6% of Scorpio Tankers shares are owned by institutional investors. 7.1% of Odyssey Marine Exploration shares are owned by company insiders. Comparatively, 7.3% of Scorpio Tankers shares are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, hedge funds and large money managers believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a breakdown of current ratings and price targets for Odyssey Marine Exploration and Scorpio Tankers, as provided by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Odyssey Marine Exploration	1	0	0	0	1.00
Scorpio Tankers	0	2	4	2	3.00

Scorpio Tankers has a consensus price target of $64.40, suggesting a potential upside of 11.13%. Given Scorpio Tankers’ stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, analysts plainly believe Scorpio Tankers is more favorable than Odyssey Marine Exploration.

Volatility & Risk

Odyssey Marine Exploration has a beta of -0.84, meaning that its stock price is 184% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Scorpio Tankers has a beta of 0.01, meaning that its stock price is 99% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Earnings and Valuation

This table compares Odyssey Marine Exploration and Scorpio Tankers”s revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Odyssey Marine Exploration	$770,000.00	210.69	$15.66 million	N/A	N/A
Scorpio Tankers	$1.24 billion	2.38	$668.77 million	$7.34	7.90

Scorpio Tankers has higher revenue and earnings than Odyssey Marine Exploration.

Summary

Scorpio Tankers beats Odyssey Marine Exploration on 11 of the 13 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Odyssey Marine Exploration

Odyssey Marine Exploration, Inc., together with its subsidiaries, discovers, validates, and develops seafloor mineral resources worldwide. The company provides specialized mineral exploration, project development, and marine services to clients. Odyssey Marine Exploration, Inc. was founded in 1994 and is headquartered in Tampa, Florida.

About Scorpio Tankers

Scorpio Tankers Inc., together with its subsidiaries, engages in the seaborne transportation of crude oi and refined petroleum products in the shipping markets worldwide. As of March 21, 2024, its fleet consisted of 110 owned and leases financed tanker, including 39 LR2, 57 MR, and 14 Handymax with a weighted average age of approximately 8.1 years. Scorpio Tankers Inc. was incorporated in 2009 and is headquartered in Monaco.