Comparing Danaos (NYSE:DAC) and Nippon Yusen Kabushiki Kaisha (OTCMKTS:NPNYY)

Nippon Yusen Kabushiki Kaisha (OTCMKTS:NPNYY) and Danaos (NYSE:DAC) are both industrials companies, but which is the better stock? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their profitability, valuation, earnings, analyst recommendations, risk, institutional ownership and dividends.

Analyst Ratings

This is a summary of current recommendations and price targets for Nippon Yusen Kabushiki Kaisha and Danaos, as provided by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Nippon Yusen Kabushiki Kaisha	0	1	0	0	2.00
Danaos	0	0	0	3	4.00

Earnings & Valuation

This table compares Nippon Yusen Kabushiki Kaisha and Danaos”s gross revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Nippon Yusen Kabushiki Kaisha	$16.10 billion	1.06	$1.40 billion	$0.71	11.87
Danaos	$1.04 billion	2.59	$494.61 million	$29.55	5.02

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

Dividends

Nippon Yusen Kabushiki Kaisha pays an annual dividend of $0.19 per share and has a dividend yield of 2.3%. Danaos pays an annual dividend of $4.00 per share and has a dividend yield of 2.7%. Nippon Yusen Kabushiki Kaisha pays out 26.8% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Danaos pays out 13.5% 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. Danaos has increased its dividend for 3 consecutive years. Danaos is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and longer track record of dividend growth.

Volatility & Risk

Nippon Yusen Kabushiki Kaisha has a beta of 0.68, indicating that its stock price is 32% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Danaos has a beta of 0.94, indicating that its stock price is 6% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Profitability

This table compares Nippon Yusen Kabushiki Kaisha and Danaos’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Nippon Yusen Kabushiki Kaisha	8.88%	5.53%	3.38%
Danaos	51.26%	13.20%	10.08%

Institutional & Insider Ownership

19.0% of Danaos shares are owned by institutional investors. 41.0% of Danaos shares are owned by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, hedge funds and large money managers believe a stock will outperform the market over the long term.

Summary

Danaos beats Nippon Yusen Kabushiki Kaisha on 13 of the 16 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Nippon Yusen Kabushiki Kaisha

Nippon Yusen Kabushiki Kaisha provides various logistics services worldwide. It operates through Liner & Logistics Business, Bulk Shipping Business, and Other Business segments. The company offers liner trading services, such as container shipping, and terminal and stevedoring services for containerships, car carriers, and cruise ships; and air cargo transportation services. It also provides bulk shipping services comprising transport services for finished automobiles, heavy construction machines, and used cars; transportation services for bulk freight, including iron ore, coal, and wood chips; and transportation services for crude oil, petroleum products, chemicals, liquefied petroleum gas, liquefied natural gas, and coal. In addition, the company is involved in the upstream areas of the supply chain for oil and natural gas. Further, it operates Asuka II, a luxury cruise ship; and manages commercial and residential buildings. Nippon Yusen Kabushiki Kaisha was incorporated in 1885 and is headquartered in Tokyo, Japan.

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.