Financial Contrast: Danaos (NYSE:DAC) versus Icon Energy (NASDAQ:ICON)

Danaos (NYSE:DAC) and Icon Energy (NASDAQ:ICON) are both transportation companies, but which is the superior stock? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their earnings, dividends, institutional ownership, risk, profitability, analyst recommendations and valuation.

Insider & Institutional Ownership

19.0% of Danaos shares are owned by institutional investors. 41.0% of Danaos shares are owned by insiders. Comparatively, 4.7% of Icon Energy 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 Recommendations

This is a summary of current recommendations and price targets for Danaos and Icon Energy, as provided by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Danaos	0	1	2	1	3.00
Icon Energy	0	0	0	0	0.00

Danaos currently has a consensus price target of $105.00, indicating a potential downside of 16.39%. Given Danaos’ stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, research analysts clearly believe Danaos is more favorable than Icon Energy.

Profitability

This table compares Danaos and Icon Energy’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Danaos	49.85%	13.18%	10.23%
Icon Energy	N/A	N/A	N/A

Risk & Volatility

Danaos has a beta of 0.9, suggesting that its share price is 10% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Icon Energy has a beta of 5.39, suggesting that its share price is 439% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Earnings & Valuation

This table compares Danaos and Icon Energy”s top-line revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Danaos	$1.04 billion	2.19	$494.61 million	$28.35	4.43
Icon Energy	$11.26 million	0.08	-$4.20 million	($23.65)	-0.06

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

Summary

Danaos beats Icon Energy on 14 of the 15 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Danaos

Danaos Corporation, together with its subsidiaries, provides container and drybulk vessels services in Australia, Asia, and Europe. The company offers seaborne transportation services by operating vessels in the containership and drybulk sectors of the shipping industry. As of April 03, 2024, it had a fleet of 68 containerships aggregating 421,293 twenty-foot equivalent units in capacity. The company was formerly known as Danaos Holdings Limited and changed its name to Danaos Corporation in October 2005. Danaos Corporation was founded in 1963 and is based in Piraeus, Greece.

About Icon Energy

Iconix Brand Group, Inc. is a brand management company. As of December 31, 2016, the Company owned a portfolio of over 30 global consumer brands across women’s, men’s, and home categories. The Company operates through segments: men’s, women’s, home and international. The Company’s brand portfolio includes brands, such as Candie’s, Bongo, Joe Boxer, Rampage, Mudd, London Fog, Mossimo, Ocean Pacific/OP, Danskin/Danskin Now, Rocawear/Roc Nation, Cannon, Royal Velvet, Fieldcrest, Charisma, Starter, Waverly, Ecko Unltd/Mark Ecko Cut & Sew, Zoo York, Umbro, Lee Cooper and Artful Dodger, and interests in Material Girl, Ed Hardy, Truth or Dare, Modern Amusement, Buffalo, Nick Graham Hydraulic and PONY brands. It operates in various geographic regions, including the United States, Japan and Other (which principally represent Latin America and Europe).