Nordic American Tankers (NYSE:NAT – Get Free Report) and Vermilion Energy (NYSE:VET – Get Free Report) are both small-cap energy companies, but which is the better stock? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their risk, analyst recommendations, profitability, institutional ownership, earnings, valuation and dividends.
Dividends
Nordic American Tankers pays an annual dividend of $1.08 per share and has a dividend yield of 15.0%. Vermilion Energy pays an annual dividend of $0.39 per share and has a dividend yield of 3.4%. Nordic American Tankers pays out 183.1% of its earnings in the form of a dividend, suggesting it may not have sufficient earnings to cover its dividend payment in the future. Vermilion Energy pays out -18.5% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Nordic American Tankers has raised its dividend for 1 consecutive years and Vermilion Energy has raised its dividend for 3 consecutive years.
Earnings & Valuation
This table compares Nordic American Tankers and Vermilion Energy”s revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.
| Gross Revenue | Price/Sales Ratio | Net Income | Earnings Per Share | Price/Earnings Ratio | |
| Nordic American Tankers | $182.54 million | 8.35 | $12.27 million | $0.59 | 12.20 |
| Vermilion Energy | $1.30 billion | 1.32 | -$467.78 million | ($2.11) | -5.36 |
Nordic American Tankers has higher earnings, but lower revenue than Vermilion Energy. Vermilion Energy is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Nordic American Tankers, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.
Analyst Recommendations
This is a summary of current ratings and recommmendations for Nordic American Tankers and Vermilion Energy, as provided by MarketBeat.
| Sell Ratings | Hold Ratings | Buy Ratings | Strong Buy Ratings | Rating Score | |
| Nordic American Tankers | 1 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 2.00 |
| Vermilion Energy | 1 | 6 | 2 | 0 | 2.11 |
Nordic American Tankers presently has a consensus target price of $6.83, suggesting a potential downside of 5.05%. Vermilion Energy has a consensus target price of $15.00, suggesting a potential upside of 32.56%. Given Vermilion Energy’s stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, analysts clearly believe Vermilion Energy is more favorable than Nordic American Tankers.
Institutional & Insider Ownership
44.3% of Nordic American Tankers shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 31.9% of Vermilion Energy shares are owned by institutional investors. 2.9% of Nordic American Tankers shares are owned by insiders. Comparatively, 2.6% of Vermilion Energy shares are owned by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, hedge funds and endowments believe a company is poised for long-term growth.
Risk & Volatility
Nordic American Tankers has a beta of -0.5, indicating that its share price is 150% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Vermilion Energy has a beta of 0.52, indicating that its share price is 48% less volatile than the S&P 500.
Profitability
This table compares Nordic American Tankers and Vermilion Energy’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.
| Net Margins | Return on Equity | Return on Assets | |
| Nordic American Tankers | 47.04% | 20.58% | 10.38% |
| Vermilion Energy | -22.48% | 5.26% | 2.15% |
Summary
Nordic American Tankers beats Vermilion Energy on 10 of the 17 factors compared between the two stocks.
About Nordic American Tankers
Nordic American Tankers Limited, a tanker company, acquires and charters double-hull tankers in Bermuda and internationally. It operates a fleet of 20 Suezmax crude oil tankers. The company was incorporated in 1995 and is headquartered in Hamilton, Bermuda.
About Vermilion Energy
Vermilion Energy Inc., together with its subsidiaries, engages in the acquisition, exploration, development, and production of petroleum and natural gas. The company has properties in West Central Alberta, southeast Saskatchewan, Manitoba, and West Pembina in Canada; Wyoming in the United States; southwest Bordeaux and Paris Basin in France; the Netherlands; Germany; Ireland; Croatia; Slovakia; and Australia. The company was founded in 1994 and is headquartered in Calgary, Canada.
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