Financial Comparison: Odyssey Marine Exploration (NASDAQ:OMEX) vs. Dorian LPG (NYSE:LPG)

Dorian LPG (NYSE:LPG) and Odyssey Marine Exploration (NASDAQ:OMEX) are both small-cap transportation companies, but which is the better stock? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their institutional ownership, earnings, analyst recommendations, valuation, profitability, dividends and risk.

Analyst Ratings

This is a summary of current ratings for Dorian LPG and Odyssey Marine Exploration, as reported by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Dorian LPG	0	3	1	1	2.60
Odyssey Marine Exploration	1	0	0	0	1.00

Dorian LPG currently has a consensus price target of $35.00, suggesting a potential downside of 1.23%. Given Dorian LPG’s stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, equities research analysts plainly believe Dorian LPG is more favorable than Odyssey Marine Exploration.

Insider & Institutional Ownership

62.5% of Dorian LPG shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 50.0% of Odyssey Marine Exploration shares are owned by institutional investors. 13.6% of Dorian LPG shares are owned by insiders. Comparatively, 7.1% of Odyssey Marine Exploration shares are owned by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, endowments and large money managers believe a stock will outperform the market over the long term.

Earnings and Valuation

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

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Dorian LPG	$353.34 million	4.29	$90.17 million	$2.84	12.48
Odyssey Marine Exploration	$770,000.00	109.31	$15.66 million	($0.78)	-1.94

Dorian LPG has higher revenue and earnings than Odyssey Marine Exploration. Odyssey Marine Exploration is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Dorian LPG, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Profitability

This table compares Dorian LPG and Odyssey Marine Exploration’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Dorian LPG	29.88%	11.82%	7.06%
Odyssey Marine Exploration	-6,569.59%	N/A	-191.52%

Volatility and Risk

Dorian LPG has a beta of 0.58, meaning that its stock price is 42% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Odyssey Marine Exploration has a beta of -0.84, meaning that its stock price is 184% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Summary

Dorian LPG beats Odyssey Marine Exploration on 14 of the 15 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Dorian LPG

Dorian LPG Ltd., together with its subsidiaries, engages in the transportation of liquefied petroleum gas through its LPG tankers worldwide. It owns and operates twenty-five very large gas carriers. The company was incorporated in 2013 and is headquartered in Stamford, Connecticut.

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.