Reviewing BW LPG (NYSE:BWLP) & Costamare (NYSE:CMRE)

BW LPG (NYSE:BWLP) and Costamare (NYSE:CMRE) are both transportation companies, but which is the superior stock? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their analyst recommendations, institutional ownership, earnings, risk, profitability, valuation and dividends.

Dividends

BW LPG pays an annual dividend of $2.28 per share and has a dividend yield of 11.5%. Costamare pays an annual dividend of $0.46 per share and has a dividend yield of 2.8%. BW LPG pays out 142.5% of its earnings in the form of a dividend, suggesting it may not have sufficient earnings to cover its dividend payment in the future. Costamare pays out 17.2% of its earnings in the form of a dividend.

Volatility & Risk

BW LPG has a beta of 1.33, indicating that its stock price is 33% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Costamare has a beta of 1.22, indicating that its stock price is 22% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Earnings and Valuation

This table compares BW LPG and Costamare”s revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
BW LPG	$3.58 billion	0.84	$242.31 million	$1.60	12.41
Costamare	$866.09 million	2.29	$364.58 million	$2.68	6.14

Costamare has lower revenue, but higher earnings than BW LPG. Costamare is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than BW LPG, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Insider & Institutional Ownership

58.1% of Costamare shares are owned by institutional investors. 23.2% of Costamare shares are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, endowments and large money managers believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.

Profitability

This table compares BW LPG and Costamare’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
BW LPG	6.76%	12.61%	7.33%
Costamare	39.93%	16.42%	9.07%

Analyst Ratings

This is a summary of recent recommendations and price targets for BW LPG and Costamare, as provided by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
BW LPG	1	1	2	0	2.25
Costamare	0	3	0	1	2.50

Costamare has a consensus target price of $12.00, suggesting a potential downside of 27.13%. Given Costamare’s stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, analysts plainly believe Costamare is more favorable than BW LPG.

Summary

Costamare beats BW LPG on 12 of the 17 factors compared between the two stocks.

About BW LPG

BW LPG Limited, an investment holding company, engages in ship owning and chartering activities worldwide. The company operates through Shipping and Product Services segments. The company involved in the transportation of liquefied petroleum gas to oil companies, and trading and utility companies. It also offers integrated liquified petroleum gas (LPG) delivery services and support; wholesale and trade of LPG; and management services. It owns and operates LPG vessels and a fleet of very large gas carriers. The company was formerly known as BW Gas LPG Holding Limited and changed its name to BW LPG Limited in September 2013. BW LPG Limited was founded in 1935 and is headquartered in Singapore.

About Costamare

Costamare Inc. owns and operates containerships and dry bulk vessels that are chartered to liner companies providing transportation of cargoes worldwide. As of March 19, 2024, it had a fleet of fleet of 68 containerships and 37 dry bulk vessels. The company was founded in 1974 and is based in Monaco.