Star Group (NYSE:SGU – Get Free Report) and Toro (NASDAQ:TORO – Get Free Report) are both small-cap energy companies, but which is the superior business? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their earnings, dividends, profitability, institutional ownership, risk, analyst recommendations and valuation.
Institutional & Insider Ownership
40.4% of Star Group shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 1.7% of Toro shares are held by institutional investors. 20.4% of Star Group shares are held by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, hedge funds and endowments believe a company is poised for long-term growth.
Earnings & Valuation
This table compares Star Group and Toro”s revenue, earnings per share and valuation.
| Gross Revenue | Price/Sales Ratio | Net Income | Earnings Per Share | Price/Earnings Ratio | |
| Star Group | $1.78 billion | 0.24 | $73.50 million | $1.87 | 6.90 |
| Toro | $21.08 million | 4.17 | $5.93 million | ($0.11) | -37.18 |
Star Group has higher revenue and earnings than Toro. Toro is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Star Group, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.
Volatility & Risk
Star Group has a beta of 0.31, meaning that its share price is 69% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Toro has a beta of 2.59, meaning that its share price is 159% more volatile than the S&P 500.
Profitability
This table compares Star Group and Toro’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.
| Net Margins | Return on Equity | Return on Assets | |
| Star Group | 4.57% | 24.43% | 8.39% |
| Toro | 16.42% | 2.06% | 1.16% |
Analyst Recommendations
This is a summary of recent ratings and target prices for Star Group and Toro, as reported by MarketBeat.
| Sell Ratings | Hold Ratings | Buy Ratings | Strong Buy Ratings | Rating Score | |
| Star Group | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2.00 |
| Toro | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2.00 |
Summary
Star Group beats Toro on 8 of the 11 factors compared between the two stocks.
About Star Group
Star Group, L.P., together with its subsidiaries, provides home heating oil and propane products and services to residential and commercial customers in the United States. It offers gasoline and diesel fuel; and installs, maintain, and repairs heating and air conditioning equipment. As of September 30, 2023, the company served approximately 402,200 full service residential and commercial home heating oil and propane customers and 52,400 customers on a delivery only basis. It also sells gasoline and diesel fuel to approximately 26,600 customers. The company was formerly known as Star Gas Partners, L.P. and changed its name to Star Group, L.P. in October 2017. Star Group, L.P. was incorporated in 1995 and is based in Stamford, Connecticut.
About Toro
Toro Corp., a shipping company, acquires, owns, charters, and operates oceangoing tanker vessels and provides seaborne transportation services for crude oil LPG, and refined petroleum products worldwide. The company operates in three segments: Aframax/LR2 Tanker, Handysize Tanker, and LPG Carrier. As of December 31, 2023, it operated a fleet of one Handysize tanker vessel; one Aframax/LR2 vessel; and four LPG carrier vessels with an aggregate cargo carrying capacity of 0.1 million deadweight ton. Toro Corp. was incorporated in 2022 and is based in Limassol, Cyprus.
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