Financial Analysis: Cosan (NYSE:CSAN) & Lightbridge (NASDAQ:LTBR)

Lightbridge (NASDAQ:LTBR) and Cosan (NYSE:CSAN) are both energy companies, but which is the superior investment? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their earnings, risk, valuation, institutional ownership, profitability, dividends and analyst recommendations.

Profitability

This table compares Lightbridge and Cosan’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Lightbridge	N/A	-12.59%	-12.50%
Cosan	-24.09%	-14.30%	-3.49%

Earnings and Valuation

This table compares Lightbridge and Cosan”s gross revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Lightbridge	N/A	N/A	-$19.58 million	($0.77)	-10.25
Cosan	$39.78 billion	0.08	-$1.74 billion	($2.46)	-1.29

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

Risk and Volatility

Lightbridge has a beta of 2.11, indicating that its stock price is 111% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Cosan has a beta of 0.72, indicating that its stock price is 28% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Insider & Institutional Ownership

9.1% of Lightbridge shares are owned by institutional investors. 5.4% of Lightbridge 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.

Analyst Ratings

This is a breakdown of recent recommendations for Lightbridge and Cosan, as reported by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Lightbridge	1	0	0	0	1.00
Cosan	2	4	0	0	1.67

Cosan has a consensus target price of $3.85, indicating a potential upside of 20.88%. Given Cosan’s stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, analysts plainly believe Cosan is more favorable than Lightbridge.

Summary

Lightbridge beats Cosan on 7 of the 12 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Lightbridge

Lightbridge Corporation, together with its subsidiaries, engages in developing nuclear fuel technology. It develops and commercializes metallic nuclear fuels. The company was formerly known as Thorium Power, Ltd. and changed its name to Lightbridge Corporation in September 2009. Lightbridge Corporation is headquartered in Reston, Virginia.

About Cosan

Cosan S.A. engages in the fuel distribution business. It operates through Raízen, Compass, Moove, Rumo, and Radar segments. The company’s Raízen segment engages in the production, commercialization, origination, and trading of ethanol, bioenergy, renewable sources, and sugar; trading and resale of electricity; and distribution and commercialization of fuels and lubricants. Its Compass segment distributes piped natural gas to industrial, residential, commercial, automotive, and cogeneration customers; and develops infrastructure projects in a regasification terminal, offshore gas pipeline, and thermal generation projects utilizing natural gas, as well as commercialization of electricity and natural gas. The company’s Moove segment produces and distributes lubricants under the Comma brand. Its Rumo segment provides logistics services for rail transportation, port storage, and loading of goods, including grains and sugar; and leases locomotives, wagons, and another railroad equipment, as well as operates containers. The company’s Radar segment manages agricultural property. It operates in Brazil, England, France, Spain and Portugal, Argentina, Bolivia, Uruguay and Paraguay, the United States, Asia, and internationally. Cosan S.A. was founded in 1936 and is headquartered in São Paulo, Brazil.