Comparing Matson (NYSE:MATX) & United Maritime (NASDAQ:USEA)

Matson (NYSE:MATX) and United Maritime (NASDAQ:USEA) are both industrials companies, but which is the better business? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their dividends, analyst recommendations, profitability, earnings, risk, institutional ownership and valuation.

Analyst Ratings

This is a summary of recent ratings and target prices for Matson and United Maritime, as reported by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Matson	0	1	5	0	2.83
United Maritime	1	0	0	0	1.00

Matson currently has a consensus price target of $259.25, suggesting a potential upside of 22.26%. Given Matson’s stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, equities research analysts clearly believe Matson is more favorable than United Maritime.

Dividends

Matson pays an annual dividend of $1.52 per share and has a dividend yield of 0.7%. United Maritime pays an annual dividend of $0.40 per share and has a dividend yield of 16.3%. Matson pays out 8.6% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. United Maritime pays out -200.0% 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. Matson has increased its dividend for 13 consecutive years. United Maritime is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and lower payout ratio.

Earnings & Valuation

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

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Matson	$3.34 billion	1.88	$444.80 million	$17.68	11.99
United Maritime	$35.49 million	0.66	-$6.19 million	($0.20)	-12.30

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

Profitability

This table compares Matson and United Maritime’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%
United Maritime	-5.07%	2.31%	0.86%

Risk & Volatility

Matson has a beta of 1.33, meaning that its share price is 33% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, United Maritime has a beta of 0.83, meaning that its share price is 17% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Insider and Institutional Ownership

84.8% of Matson shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 1.6% of United Maritime shares are held by institutional investors. 2.5% of Matson shares are held by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, hedge funds and large money managers believe a company will outperform the market over the long term.

Summary

Matson beats United Maritime on 15 of the 17 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 United Maritime

United Maritime Corporation (NASDAQ: USEA) is a global shipping company engaged in the ownership and operation of oceangoing vessels. The company primarily provides seaborne transportation services for dry bulk commodities and liquid cargoes through its fleet of dry bulk carriers and tankers. United Maritime’s vessels transport commodities such as grains, coal, and other dry bulk materials, as well as petroleum products and related liquid cargoes. The company generates revenue by employing its vessels under voyage charters, time charters, and other commercial arrangements with customers in international shipping markets.