Critical Comparison: Dynagas LNG Partners (DLNG) and Its Peers

Dynagas LNG Partners (NYSE:DLNG) is one of 45 public companies in the “TRANS – SERVICES” industry, but how does it contrast to its peers? We will compare Dynagas LNG Partners to similar companies based on the strength of its earnings, profitability, analyst recommendations, risk, dividends, valuation and institutional ownership.

Valuation and Earnings

This table compares Dynagas LNG Partners and its peers gross revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Net Income	Price/Earnings Ratio
Dynagas LNG Partners	$156.62 million	$61.65 million	3.02
Dynagas LNG Partners Competitors	$7.08 billion	$250.90 million	15.36

Dynagas LNG Partners’ peers have higher revenue and earnings than Dynagas LNG Partners. Dynagas LNG Partners is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than its peers, indicating that it is currently more affordable than other companies in its industry.

Profitability

This table compares Dynagas LNG Partners and its peers’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Dynagas LNG Partners	39.36%	15.20%	6.96%
Dynagas LNG Partners Competitors	1.41%	-207.15%	-0.83%

Analyst Ratings

This is a breakdown of recent ratings and recommmendations for Dynagas LNG Partners and its peers, as provided by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Dynagas LNG Partners	0	0	1	0	3.00
Dynagas LNG Partners Competitors	613	1628	1693	102	2.32

As a group, “TRANS – SERVICES” companies have a potential upside of 3.74%. Given Dynagas LNG Partners’ peers higher possible upside, analysts plainly believe Dynagas LNG Partners has less favorable growth aspects than its peers.

Insider and Institutional Ownership

55.5% of shares of all “TRANS – SERVICES” companies are held by institutional investors. 22.4% of shares of all “TRANS – SERVICES” companies are held by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, hedge funds and endowments believe a stock will outperform the market over the long term.

Volatility & Risk

Dynagas LNG Partners has a beta of 0.72, indicating that its share price is 28% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Dynagas LNG Partners’ peers have a beta of 0.97, indicating that their average share price is 3% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Dividends

Dynagas LNG Partners pays an annual dividend of $0.20 per share and has a dividend yield of 4.8%. Dynagas LNG Partners pays out 14.6% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. As a group, “TRANS – SERVICES” companies pay a dividend yield of 4.1% and pay out 87.0% of their earnings in the form of a dividend. Dynagas LNG Partners is clearly a better dividend stock than its peers, given its higher yield and lower payout ratio.

Summary

Dynagas LNG Partners peers beat Dynagas LNG Partners on 8 of the 15 factors compared.

Dynagas LNG Partners Company Profile

Dynagas LNG Partners LP, through its subsidiaries, operates in the seaborne transportation industry in Greece and internationally. The company owns and operates liquefied natural gas (LNG) carriers. Its fleet consists of six LNG carriers with an aggregate carrying capacity of approximately 914,000 cubic meters. Dynagas GP LLC serves as the general partner of Dynagas LNG Partners LP. The company was incorporated in 2013 and is headquartered in Athens, Greece.