Financial Comparison: Kinetik (NYSE:KNTK) versus StealthGas (NASDAQ:GASS)

Kinetik (NYSE:KNTK) and StealthGas (NASDAQ:GASS) are both energy companies, but which is the superior business? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their valuation, dividends, risk, institutional ownership, earnings, profitability and analyst recommendations.

Risk and Volatility

Kinetik has a beta of 0.57, indicating that its stock price is 43% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, StealthGas has a beta of 0.25, indicating that its stock price is 75% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Profitability

This table compares Kinetik and StealthGas’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Kinetik	26.19%	-38.96%	7.07%
StealthGas	34.97%	7.87%	7.60%

Valuation and Earnings

This table compares Kinetik and StealthGas”s gross revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Kinetik	$1.76 billion	4.90	$525.93 million	$2.76	19.28
StealthGas	$173.16 million	2.04	$60.65 million	$1.59	5.90

Kinetik has higher revenue and earnings than StealthGas. StealthGas is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Kinetik, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a breakdown of current recommendations for Kinetik and StealthGas, as reported by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Kinetik	0	7	11	1	2.68
StealthGas	0	1	0	0	2.00

Kinetik currently has a consensus price target of $54.00, suggesting a potential upside of 1.50%. Given Kinetik’s stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, analysts plainly believe Kinetik is more favorable than StealthGas.

Institutional & Insider Ownership

21.1% of Kinetik shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 66.3% of StealthGas shares are held by institutional investors. 3.6% of Kinetik shares are held by company insiders. Comparatively, 22.1% of StealthGas shares are held by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, large money managers and endowments believe a stock will outperform the market over the long term.

Summary

Kinetik beats StealthGas on 10 of the 15 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Kinetik

Kinetik Holdings Inc. operates as a midstream company in the Texas Delaware Basin. It provides gathering, transportation, compression, processing, and treating services for companies that produce natural gas, natural gas liquids, crude oil, and water. The company is headquartered in Midland, Texas.

About StealthGas

StealthGas Inc., together with its subsidiaries, provides seaborne transportation services to liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) producers and users worldwide. The company's carriers carry various petroleum gas products in liquefied form, including propane, butane, butadiene, isopropane, propylene, and vinyl chloride monomer, as well as ammonia; refined petroleum products, such as gasoline, diesel, fuel oil, and jet fuel; and edible oils and chemicals. It offers crude oil and natural gas. The company operates a fleet of 33 LPG carries, including six JV vessels. StealthGas Inc. was incorporated in 2004 and is based in Athens, Greece.