Reviewing Global Partners (NYSE:GLP) and Navigator (NYSE:NVGS)

Global Partners (NYSE:GLP) and Navigator (NYSE:NVGS) are both small-cap energy companies, but which is the better investment? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their valuation, dividends, institutional ownership, risk, profitability, analyst recommendations and earnings.

Analyst Ratings

This is a summary of recent ratings and target prices for Global Partners and Navigator, as provided by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Global Partners	0	2	1	0	2.33
Navigator	0	1	4	0	2.80

Global Partners presently has a consensus price target of $46.00, suggesting a potential downside of 6.59%. Navigator has a consensus price target of $23.00, suggesting a potential downside of 3.76%. Given Navigator’s stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, analysts plainly believe Navigator is more favorable than Global Partners.

Risk and Volatility

Global Partners has a beta of 1.11, meaning that its stock price is 11% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Navigator has a beta of 0.48, meaning that its stock price is 52% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Profitability

This table compares Global Partners and Navigator’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Global Partners	0.91%	30.87%	4.92%
Navigator	22.80%	10.45%	5.73%

Dividends

Global Partners pays an annual dividend of $3.12 per share and has a dividend yield of 6.3%. Navigator pays an annual dividend of $0.28 per share and has a dividend yield of 1.2%. Global Partners pays out 63.5% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Navigator pays out 12.9% 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. Global Partners has raised its dividend for 5 consecutive years and Navigator has raised its dividend for 1 consecutive years. Global Partners is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and longer track record of dividend growth.

Earnings and Valuation

This table compares Global Partners and Navigator”s revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Global Partners	$18.56 billion	0.09	$79.22 million	$4.91	10.03
Navigator	$586.96 million	2.50	$100.12 million	$2.17	11.01

Navigator has lower revenue, but higher earnings than Global Partners. Global Partners is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Navigator, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Insider & Institutional Ownership

38.1% of Global Partners shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 19.0% of Navigator shares are held by institutional investors. 41.5% of Global Partners shares are held by insiders. Comparatively, 0.4% of Navigator shares are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, endowments and large money managers believe a company will outperform the market over the long term.

Summary

Navigator beats Global Partners on 9 of the 17 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Global Partners

Global Partners LP engages in the purchasing, selling, gathering, blending, storing, and logistics of transporting gasoline and gasoline blendstocks, distillates, residual oil, renewable fuels, crude oil, and propane to wholesalers, retailers, and commercial customers. The company operates through three segments: Wholesale, Gasoline Distribution and Station Operations, and Commercial. The Wholesale segment sells home heating oil, branded and unbranded gasoline and gasoline blendstocks, diesel, kerosene, and residual oil to home heating oil and propane retailers and wholesale distributors. This segment also transports the products by railcars, barges, trucks and/or pipelines. Its Gasoline Distribution and Station Operations segment sells branded and unbranded gasoline to gasoline station operators and sub-jobbers; operates gasoline stations and convenience stores; and provides car wash, lottery, and ATM services, as well as leases gasoline stations. The Commercial segment sells and delivers unbranded gasoline, home heating oil, diesel, kerosene, residual oil, and bunker fuel to customers in the public sector, as well as to commercial and industrial end-users; and sells custom blended fuels. The company is also involved in the transportation of petroleum products and renewable fuels through rail from the mid-continent region of the United States and Canada. Global Partners LP was founded in 2005 and is based in Waltham, Massachusetts.

About Navigator

Navigator Holdings Ltd. engages in owning and operating a fleet of liquefied gas carriers worldwide. It provides international and regional seaborne transportation services of petrochemical gases, liquefied petroleum gases, and ammonia for energy companies, industrial users, and commodity traders. The company also offers ship shore infrastructure and consultancy services. It operates a fleet of 56 semi- or fully-refrigerated liquefied gas carriers. The company was formerly known as Isle of Man public limited company and changed its name to Navigator Holdings Ltd. in 2006. Navigator Holdings Ltd. was incorporated in 1997 and is based in London, the United Kingdom.