Reviewing EuroDry (NASDAQ:EDRY) and Matson (NYSE:MATX)

Matson (NYSE:MATX) and EuroDry (NASDAQ:EDRY) are both industrials companies, but which is the better investment? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their dividends, earnings, risk, institutional ownership, profitability, analyst recommendations and valuation.

Analyst Ratings

This is a summary of current ratings and price targets for Matson and EuroDry, as provided by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Matson	0	1	5	0	2.83
EuroDry	1	0	2	1	2.75

Matson presently has a consensus target price of $259.25, suggesting a potential upside of 24.24%. EuroDry has a consensus target price of $23.50, suggesting a potential downside of 35.17%. Given Matson’s stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, analysts plainly believe Matson is more favorable than EuroDry.

Profitability

This table compares Matson and EuroDry’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Matson	14.58%	19.25%	11.45%
EuroDry	25.10%	15.61%	7.76%

Insider and Institutional Ownership

84.8% of Matson shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 2.4% of EuroDry shares are held by institutional investors. 2.5% of Matson shares are held by insiders. Comparatively, 51.4% of EuroDry shares are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, large money managers and endowments believe a company will outperform the market over the long term.

Earnings and Valuation

This table compares Matson and EuroDry”s top-line revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Matson	$3.69 billion	1.67	$444.80 million	$17.68	11.80
EuroDry	$62.27 million	1.67	-$4.26 million	$5.94	6.10

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

Volatility and Risk

Matson has a beta of 1.33, suggesting that its stock price is 33% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, EuroDry has a beta of 0.82, suggesting that its stock price is 18% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Summary

Matson beats EuroDry on 12 of the 15 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Matson

Matson, Inc. is a transportation company focused on ocean shipping and logistics. Founded in 1882 by Captain William Matson, the company has a long history of connecting communities and businesses across the Pacific. Matson provides ocean transportation services to Hawaii, Alaska, Guam, Micronesia, and the South Pacific, as well as a service linking China with the U.S. West Coast. Its operations include container shipping and the transport of goods such as vehicles and other cargo. Through its logistics business, Matson also offers freight forwarding, intermodal transportation, and supply chain services.

About EuroDry

EuroDry Ltd. is an international drybulk shipping company that owns and operates vessels used to transport commodities by sea. Its cargoes include iron ore, coal, grain, bauxite, fertilizers and other drybulk materials. The company serves global trade routes and employs vessel-chartering arrangements, including time and voyage charters, to provide transportation services to cargo owners and charterers. EuroDry began operations in 2018 after being spun off from Euroseas Ltd. The company is based in Athens, Greece, and is led by Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Aristides Pittas.