Analyzing Excelerate Energy (NYSE:EE) and FutureFuel (NYSE:FF)

Excelerate Energy (NYSE:EE) and FutureFuel (NYSE:FF) are both energy companies, but which is the better business? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their risk, institutional ownership, earnings, dividends, valuation, analyst recommendations and profitability.

Dividends

Excelerate Energy pays an annual dividend of $0.36 per share and has a dividend yield of 1.0%. FutureFuel pays an annual dividend of $0.04 per share and has a dividend yield of 0.7%. Excelerate Energy pays out 24.8% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. FutureFuel pays out -5.7% 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. Excelerate Energy has increased its dividend for 2 consecutive years. Excelerate Energy is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and longer track record of dividend growth.

Institutional & Insider Ownership

21.8% of Excelerate Energy shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 44.6% of FutureFuel shares are held by institutional investors. 2.3% of Excelerate Energy shares are held by insiders. Comparatively, 42.6% of FutureFuel shares are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, hedge funds and endowments believe a stock will outperform the market over the long term.

Profitability

This table compares Excelerate Energy and FutureFuel’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Excelerate Energy	3.23%	2.24%	1.22%
FutureFuel	-19.94%	-19.75%	-15.47%

Earnings & Valuation

This table compares Excelerate Energy and FutureFuel”s revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Excelerate Energy	$1.23 billion	3.31	$39.20 million	$1.45	24.72
FutureFuel	$95.74 million	2.55	-$49.40 million	($0.70)	-7.95

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

Analyst Ratings

This is a breakdown of current ratings and recommmendations for Excelerate Energy and FutureFuel, as reported by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Excelerate Energy	0	5	5	3	2.85
FutureFuel	1	0	0	0	1.00

Excelerate Energy presently has a consensus target price of $43.00, suggesting a potential upside of 19.97%. Given Excelerate Energy’s stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, research analysts plainly believe Excelerate Energy is more favorable than FutureFuel.

Volatility and Risk

Excelerate Energy has a beta of 1.22, suggesting that its stock price is 22% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, FutureFuel has a beta of 0.83, suggesting that its stock price is 17% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Summary

Excelerate Energy beats FutureFuel on 15 of the 18 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Excelerate Energy

Excelerate Energy, Inc. provides flexible liquefied natural gas (LNG) solutions worldwide. The company offers regasification services, including floating storage and regasification units (FSRUs), infrastructure development, and LNG and natural gas supply, procurement, and distribution services; LNG terminal services; and natural gas supply to-power projects. Excelerate Energy, Inc. was founded in 2003 and is headquartered in The Woodlands, Texas. Excelerate Energy, Inc. is a subsidiary of Excelerate Energy Holdings, LLC.

About FutureFuel

FutureFuel Corp., together with its subsidiaries, manufactures and sells diversified chemical, bio-based fuel, and bio-based specialty chemical products in the United States. The company operates through two segments, Chemicals and Biofuels. The Chemicals segment provides various custom chemicals that are used in the coatings, chemical intermediates, industrial and consumer cleaning, oil and gas, and specialty polymers industries; and performance chemicals, such as polymer modifiers, glycerin products, and various specialty chemicals and solvents. The Biofuels segment is involved in the production and sale of biodiesel and petrodiesel blends; and markets its biodiesel products directly to customers through trucks, barges, and rail cars. FutureFuel Corp. is headquartered in Saint Louis, Missouri.