Martin Midstream Partners (NASDAQ:MMLP) vs. Scorpio Tankers (NYSE:STNG) Head-To-Head Contrast

Martin Midstream Partners (NASDAQ:MMLP) and Scorpio Tankers (NYSE:STNG) are both transportation companies, but which is the superior stock? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their earnings, valuation, profitability, risk, analyst recommendations, dividends and institutional ownership.

Institutional and Insider Ownership

34.9% of Martin Midstream Partners shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 54.6% of Scorpio Tankers shares are owned by institutional investors. 17.0% of Martin Midstream Partners shares are owned by insiders. Comparatively, 7.3% of Scorpio Tankers shares are owned by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, hedge funds and large money managers believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.

Profitability

This table compares Martin Midstream Partners and Scorpio Tankers’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Martin Midstream Partners	-2.88%	N/A	-3.93%
Scorpio Tankers	48.44%	11.72%	9.28%

Earnings and Valuation

This table compares Martin Midstream Partners and Scorpio Tankers”s gross revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Martin Midstream Partners	$716.11 million	0.14	-$14.74 million	($0.51)	-5.10
Scorpio Tankers	$938.22 million	4.09	$344.29 million	$10.17	7.49

Scorpio Tankers has higher revenue and earnings than Martin Midstream Partners. Martin Midstream Partners is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Scorpio Tankers, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a summary of current recommendations for Martin Midstream Partners and Scorpio Tankers, as reported by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Martin Midstream Partners	1	1	0	0	1.50
Scorpio Tankers	0	3	6	1	2.80

Martin Midstream Partners currently has a consensus price target of $3.00, indicating a potential upside of 15.38%. Scorpio Tankers has a consensus price target of $93.50, indicating a potential upside of 22.74%. Given Scorpio Tankers’ stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, analysts plainly believe Scorpio Tankers is more favorable than Martin Midstream Partners.

Volatility and Risk

Martin Midstream Partners has a beta of 0.51, indicating that its share price is 49% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Scorpio Tankers has a beta of -0.26, indicating that its share price is 126% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Dividends

Martin Midstream Partners pays an annual dividend of $0.02 per share and has a dividend yield of 0.8%. Scorpio Tankers pays an annual dividend of $1.80 per share and has a dividend yield of 2.4%. Martin Midstream Partners pays out -3.9% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Scorpio Tankers pays out 17.7% 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. Scorpio Tankers has increased its dividend for 2 consecutive years. Scorpio Tankers is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and longer track record of dividend growth.

Summary

Scorpio Tankers beats Martin Midstream Partners on 15 of the 18 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Martin Midstream Partners

Martin Midstream Partners L.P., together with its subsidiaries, provides terminalling, processing, storage, and packaging services for petroleum products and by-products primarily in the United States. The company operates in four segments: Terminalling and Storage, Transportation, Sulfur Services, and Specialty Products. The company's Terminalling and Storage segment owns or operates various marine shore-based terminal facilities and specialty terminal facilities that provide storage, refining, blending, packaging, and handling services for producers and suppliers of petroleum products and by-products. This segment also offers land rental services to oil and gas companies, as well as storage and handling services for lubricants and fuels. Its Transportation segment operates various trucks and tank trailers; and inland marine tank barges, inland push boats, and articulated offshore tug and barge unit to transport petroleum products and by-products, petrochemicals, and chemicals. The company's Sulfur Services segment processes molten sulfur into prilled or pelletized sulfur, which is used in the production of fertilizers and industrial chemicals. Its Specialty Products segment stores, distributes, and transports natural gas liquids for wholesale deliveries to refineries, industrial natural gas liquid users, and propane retailers. Martin Midstream GP LLC serves as a general partner of the company. Martin Midstream Partners L.P. was incorporated in 2002 and is based in Kilgore, Texas.

About Scorpio Tankers

Scorpio Tankers Inc., together with its subsidiaries, engages in the seaborne transportation of crude oi and refined petroleum products in the shipping markets worldwide. As of March 21, 2024, its fleet consisted of 110 owned and leases financed tanker, including 39 LR2, 57 MR, and 14 Handymax with a weighted average age of approximately 8.1 years. Scorpio Tankers Inc. was incorporated in 2009 and is headquartered in Monaco.