Critical Review: StealthGas (NASDAQ:GASS) and Toro (NASDAQ:TORO)

Volatility and Risk

Toro has a beta of 1.55, meaning that its share price is 55% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, StealthGas has a beta of 0.8, meaning that its share price is 20% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Earnings and Valuation

This table compares Toro and StealthGas”s gross revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Toro	$78.47 million	0.74	$140.64 million	$1.06	2.90
StealthGas	$143.53 million	1.30	$51.94 million	$1.77	2.88

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

Profitability

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

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Toro	176.49%	17.16%	10.30%
StealthGas	40.87%	11.36%	9.11%

Institutional and Insider Ownership

1.7% of Toro shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 66.3% of StealthGas shares are owned by institutional investors. 22.1% of StealthGas shares are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, endowments and hedge funds believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.

Summary

Toro beats StealthGas on 6 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 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.