Financial Survey: Costamare (NYSE:CMRE) vs. International Container Terminal Services (OTCMKTS:ICTEF)

International Container Terminal Services (OTCMKTS:ICTEF) and Costamare (NYSE:CMRE) are both industrials companies, but which is the better investment? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their valuation, earnings, dividends, profitability, risk, institutional ownership and analyst recommendations.

Institutional and Insider Ownership

15.2% of International Container Terminal Services shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 58.1% of Costamare shares are owned by institutional investors. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, hedge funds and large money managers believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.

Dividends

International Container Terminal Services pays an annual dividend of $0.02 per share and has a dividend yield of 0.1%. Costamare pays an annual dividend of $0.50 per share and has a dividend yield of 3.4%. International Container Terminal Services pays out 18.5% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Costamare pays out 19.0% 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.

Analyst Ratings

This is a breakdown of current ratings and price targets for International Container Terminal Services and Costamare, as reported by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
International Container Terminal Services	0	0	0	0	0.00
Costamare	0	3	0	1	2.50

Costamare has a consensus target price of $12.00, indicating a potential downside of 17.98%. Given Costamare’s stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, analysts clearly believe Costamare is more favorable than International Container Terminal Services.

Profitability

This table compares International Container Terminal Services and Costamare’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
International Container Terminal Services	N/A	N/A	N/A
Costamare	39.66%	15.11%	8.47%

Valuation & Earnings

This table compares International Container Terminal Services and Costamare”s gross revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
International Container Terminal Services	N/A	N/A	N/A	$0.09	195.03
Costamare	$877.90 million	2.00	$364.58 million	$2.63	5.56

Costamare has higher revenue and earnings than International Container Terminal Services. Costamare is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than International Container Terminal Services, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Summary

Costamare beats International Container Terminal Services on 10 of the 12 factors compared between the two stocks.

About International Container Terminal Services

International Container Terminal Services, Inc., together with its subsidiaries, develops, manages, and operates container ports and terminals for container shipping industry and cargo owners in Asia, Europe, the Middle East, Africa, and the Americas. It also provides ancillary services, including storage, container packing and unpacking, inspection, weighing, and services for refrigerated containers or reefers, as well as roll-on/roll-off and anchorage services to non-containerized cargoes or general cargoes. The company also handles containerized cargoes, which include cargoes shipped in containers for international import or export. As of February 28, 2024, it had 32 terminal operations, including concessions and port development projects in 19 countries worldwide. The company was incorporated in 1987 and is based in Manila, the Philippines.

About Costamare

Costamare Inc. owns and operates containerships and dry bulk vessels that are chartered to liner companies providing transportation of cargoes worldwide. As of March 19, 2024, it had a fleet of fleet of 68 containerships and 37 dry bulk vessels. The company was founded in 1974 and is based in Monaco.