Comparing Martin Midstream Partners (NASDAQ:MMLP) and Costamare (NYSE:CMRE)

Costamare (NYSE:CMRE) and Martin Midstream Partners (NASDAQ:MMLP) are both small-cap transportation companies, but which is the better investment? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their risk, analyst recommendations, profitability, valuation, institutional ownership, earnings and dividends.

Risk & Volatility

Costamare has a beta of 1.05, meaning that its stock price is 5% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Martin Midstream Partners has a beta of 0.51, meaning that its stock price is 49% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Dividends

Costamare pays an annual dividend of $0.46 per share and has a dividend yield of 3.0%. Martin Midstream Partners pays an annual dividend of $0.02 per share and has a dividend yield of 0.8%. Costamare pays out 17.2% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Martin Midstream Partners pays out -3.9% 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.

Profitability

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

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Costamare	39.93%	16.42%	9.07%
Martin Midstream Partners	-2.88%	N/A	-3.93%

Valuation and Earnings

This table compares Costamare and Martin Midstream Partners”s revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Costamare	$877.90 million	2.13	$364.58 million	$2.68	5.81
Martin Midstream Partners	$716.11 million	0.14	-$14.74 million	($0.51)	-5.08

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

Insider and Institutional Ownership

58.1% of Costamare shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 34.9% of Martin Midstream Partners shares are owned by institutional investors. 17.0% of Martin Midstream Partners shares are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, large money managers and endowments believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.

Analyst Ratings

This is a summary of recent ratings for Costamare and Martin Midstream Partners, as provided by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Costamare	0	3	0	1	2.50
Martin Midstream Partners	1	1	0	0	1.50

Costamare presently has a consensus price target of $12.00, indicating a potential downside of 22.91%. Martin Midstream Partners has a consensus price target of $3.00, indicating a potential upside of 15.83%. Given Martin Midstream Partners’ higher probable upside, analysts clearly believe Martin Midstream Partners is more favorable than Costamare.

Summary

Costamare beats Martin Midstream Partners on 13 of the 16 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Costamare

Costamare Inc. owns and operates containerships and dry bulk vessels that are chartered to liner companies providing transportation of cargoes worldwide. As of March 19, 2024, it had a fleet of fleet of 68 containerships and 37 dry bulk vessels. The company was founded in 1974 and is based in Monaco.

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.