Head to Head Analysis: Martin Midstream Partners (NASDAQ:MMLP) & Plains GP (NYSE:PAGP)

Plains GP (NYSE:PAGP) and Martin Midstream Partners (NASDAQ:MMLP) are both energy companies, but which is the superior business? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their profitability, analyst recommendations, dividends, risk, earnings, valuation and institutional ownership.

Risk & Volatility

Plains GP has a beta of 0.54, suggesting that its stock price is 46% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Martin Midstream Partners has a beta of 0.51, suggesting that its stock price is 49% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Insider & Institutional Ownership

88.3% of Plains GP shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 34.9% of Martin Midstream Partners shares are owned by institutional investors. 6.9% of Plains GP shares are owned by insiders. Comparatively, 17.0% of Martin Midstream Partners shares are owned by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, large money managers and hedge funds believe a company will outperform the market over the long term.

Dividends

Plains GP pays an annual dividend of $1.67 per share and has a dividend yield of 6.4%. Martin Midstream Partners pays an annual dividend of $0.02 per share and has a dividend yield of 1.0%. Plains GP pays out 59.9% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Martin Midstream Partners pays out -5.3% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Both companies have healthy payout ratios and should be able to cover their dividend payments with earnings for the next several years.

Valuation & Earnings

This table compares Plains GP and Martin Midstream Partners”s gross revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Plains GP	$52.30 billion	0.10	$103.00 million	$2.79	9.38
Martin Midstream Partners	$716.11 million	0.11	-$14.74 million	($0.38)	-5.53

Plains GP has higher revenue and earnings than Martin Midstream Partners. Martin Midstream Partners is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Plains GP, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Analyst Ratings

This is a breakdown of recent ratings and target prices for Plains GP and Martin Midstream Partners, as provided by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Plains GP	2	6	4	1	2.31
Martin Midstream Partners	1	1	0	0	1.50

Plains GP presently has a consensus target price of $24.91, suggesting a potential downside of 4.85%. Martin Midstream Partners has a consensus target price of $3.00, suggesting a potential upside of 42.86%. Given Martin Midstream Partners’ higher probable upside, analysts clearly believe Martin Midstream Partners is more favorable than Plains GP.

Profitability

This table compares Plains GP and Martin Midstream Partners’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Plains GP	0.21%	0.70%	0.36%
Martin Midstream Partners	-2.07%	N/A	-2.91%

Summary

Plains GP beats Martin Midstream Partners on 13 of the 17 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Plains GP

Plains GP Holdings, L.P., through its subsidiary, Plains All American Pipeline, L.P., owns and operates midstream infrastructure systems in the United States and Canada. It operates in two segments, Crude Oil and Natural Gas Liquids (NGLs). The company engages in the gathering and transporting crude oil and NGLs using pipelines, gathering systems, and trucks. It engages in the loading and unloading services at terminals; NGL fractionation and isomerization services; and natural gas and condensate processing services. The company offers logistics services to producers, refiners, and other customers. PAA GP Holdings LLC operates as a general partner of the company. Plains GP Holdings, L.P. was incorporated in 2013 and is headquartered in Houston, Texas.

About Martin Midstream Partners

Martin Midstream Partners L.P., together with its subsidiaries, provides terminalling, processing, storage, and packaging services for petroleum products and by-products primarily in the United States. The company operates in four segments: Terminalling and Storage, Transportation, Sulfur Services, and Specialty Products. The company's Terminalling and Storage segment owns or operates various marine shore-based terminal facilities and specialty terminal facilities that provide storage, refining, blending, packaging, and handling services for producers and suppliers of petroleum products and by-products. This segment also offers land rental services to oil and gas companies, as well as storage and handling services for lubricants and fuels. Its Transportation segment operates various trucks and tank trailers; and inland marine tank barges, inland push boats, and articulated offshore tug and barge unit to transport petroleum products and by-products, petrochemicals, and chemicals. The company's Sulfur Services segment processes molten sulfur into prilled or pelletized sulfur, which is used in the production of fertilizers and industrial chemicals. Its Specialty Products segment stores, distributes, and transports natural gas liquids for wholesale deliveries to refineries, industrial natural gas liquid users, and propane retailers. Martin Midstream GP LLC serves as a general partner of the company. Martin Midstream Partners L.P. was incorporated in 2002 and is based in Kilgore, Texas.