Reviewing Star Group (NYSE:SGU) & Toro (NASDAQ:TORO)

Toro (NASDAQ:TORO) and Star Group (NYSE:SGU) are both small-cap energy companies, but which is the better stock? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their institutional ownership, risk, dividends, valuation, analyst recommendations, profitability and earnings.

Profitability

This table compares Toro and Star Group’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Toro	22.67%	2.49%	1.43%
Star Group	4.57%	24.43%	8.39%

Analyst Recommendations

This is a summary of recent recommendations and price targets for Toro and Star Group, as provided by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Toro	0	1	0	0	2.00
Star Group	0	1	0	0	2.00

Insider & Institutional Ownership

1.7% of Toro shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 40.4% of Star Group shares are owned by institutional investors. 20.4% of Star Group shares are owned 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.

Risk & Volatility

Toro has a beta of 2.59, indicating that its stock price is 159% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Star Group has a beta of 0.31, indicating that its stock price is 69% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Earnings and Valuation

This table compares Toro and Star Group”s gross revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Toro	$21.08 million	5.58	$5.93 million	$0.04	137.00
Star Group	$1.78 billion	0.24	$73.50 million	$1.87	6.94

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

Summary

Star Group beats Toro on 7 of the 11 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Toro

Toro Corp., a shipping company, acquires, owns, charters, and operates oceangoing tanker vessels and provides seaborne transportation services for crude oil LPG, and refined petroleum products worldwide. The company operates in three segments: Aframax/LR2 Tanker, Handysize Tanker, and LPG Carrier. As of December 31, 2023, it operated a fleet of one Handysize tanker vessel; one Aframax/LR2 vessel; and four LPG carrier vessels with an aggregate cargo carrying capacity of 0.1 million deadweight ton. Toro Corp. was incorporated in 2022 and is based in Limassol, Cyprus.

About Star Group

Star Group, L.P., together with its subsidiaries, provides home heating oil and propane products and services to residential and commercial customers in the United States. It offers gasoline and diesel fuel; and installs, maintain, and repairs heating and air conditioning equipment. As of September 30, 2023, the company served approximately 402,200 full service residential and commercial home heating oil and propane customers and 52,400 customers on a delivery only basis. It also sells gasoline and diesel fuel to approximately 26,600 customers. The company was formerly known as Star Gas Partners, L.P. and changed its name to Star Group, L.P. in October 2017. Star Group, L.P. was incorporated in 1995 and is based in Stamford, Connecticut.