Financial Comparison: Nordic American Tankers (NYSE:NAT) and REX American Resources (NYSE:REX)

REX American Resources (NYSE:REX) and Nordic American Tankers (NYSE:NAT) are both small-cap energy companies, but which is the better investment? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their profitability, valuation, institutional ownership, risk, dividends, earnings and analyst recommendations.

Insider and Institutional Ownership

88.1% of REX American Resources shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 44.3% of Nordic American Tankers shares are held by institutional investors. 13.2% of REX American Resources shares are held by insiders. Comparatively, 2.9% of Nordic American Tankers shares are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, hedge funds and endowments believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.

Earnings & Valuation

This table compares REX American Resources and Nordic American Tankers”s revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
REX American Resources	$650.49 million	2.20	$82.95 million	$3.65	11.81
Nordic American Tankers	$182.54 million	9.54	$12.27 million	$0.59	13.94

REX American Resources has higher revenue and earnings than Nordic American Tankers. REX American Resources 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.

Profitability

This table compares REX American Resources and Nordic American Tankers’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
REX American Resources	18.31%	16.90%	15.01%
Nordic American Tankers	47.04%	20.58%	10.38%

Analyst Ratings

This is a summary of current ratings and recommmendations for REX American Resources and Nordic American Tankers, as reported by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
REX American Resources	0	0	1	0	3.00
Nordic American Tankers	1	2	2	0	2.20

Nordic American Tankers has a consensus price target of $5.33, indicating a potential downside of 35.16%. Given Nordic American Tankers’ higher possible upside, analysts clearly believe Nordic American Tankers is more favorable than REX American Resources.

Risk and Volatility

REX American Resources has a beta of 0.63, suggesting that its share price is 37% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Nordic American Tankers has a beta of -0.54, suggesting that its share price is 154% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Summary

REX American Resources beats Nordic American Tankers on 8 of the 14 factors compared between the two stocks.

About REX American Resources

REX American Resources Corporation, together with its subsidiaries, produces and sells ethanol in the United States. The company also offers corn, distillers grains, ethanol, distillers corn oil, gasoline, and natural gas. In addition, it provides dry distillers grains with solubles, which is used as a protein in animal feed. The company was formerly known as REX Stores Corporation and changed its name to REX American Resources Corporation in 2010. REX American Resources Corporation was founded in 1980 and is headquartered in Dayton, Ohio.

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.