Contrasting KNOT Offshore Partners (NYSE:KNOP) and Norwegian Cruise Line (NASDAQ:NCLH)

Norwegian Cruise Line (NASDAQ:NCLH – Get Rating) and KNOT Offshore Partners (NYSE:KNOP – Get Rating) are both consumer discretionary companies, but which is the superior stock? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their valuation, risk, dividends, institutional ownership, analyst recommendations, profitability and earnings.

Risk & Volatility

Norwegian Cruise Line has a beta of 2.51, suggesting that its share price is 151% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, KNOT Offshore Partners has a beta of 0.85, suggesting that its share price is 15% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Institutional & Insider Ownership

57.2% of Norwegian Cruise Line shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 15.9% of KNOT Offshore Partners shares are held by institutional investors. 0.8% of Norwegian Cruise Line shares are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, large money managers and hedge funds believe a stock will outperform the market over the long term.

Valuation and Earnings

This table compares Norwegian Cruise Line and KNOT Offshore Partners’ top-line revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Norwegian Cruise Line	$4.84 billion	1.10	-$2.27 billion	($5.41)	-2.33
KNOT Offshore Partners	$268.58 million	0.70	$53.01 million	$1.73	3.22

KNOT Offshore Partners has lower revenue, but higher earnings than Norwegian Cruise Line. Norwegian Cruise Line is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than KNOT Offshore Partners, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Analyst Ratings

This is a summary of current ratings and recommmendations for Norwegian Cruise Line and KNOT Offshore Partners, as reported by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Norwegian Cruise Line	0	0	0	0	N/A
KNOT Offshore Partners	0	1	0	0	2.00

KNOT Offshore Partners has a consensus target price of $15.50, suggesting a potential upside of 178.28%. Given KNOT Offshore Partners’ higher probable upside, analysts plainly believe KNOT Offshore Partners is more favorable than Norwegian Cruise Line.

Profitability

This table compares Norwegian Cruise Line and KNOT Offshore Partners’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Norwegian Cruise Line	-46.86%	-286.66%	-10.87%
KNOT Offshore Partners	21.84%	10.07%	3.44%

Summary

KNOT Offshore Partners beats Norwegian Cruise Line on 7 of the 12 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Norwegian Cruise Line

(Get Rating)

Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings Ltd. engages in the provision of cruise travel services. It provides cruise experiences for travelers with itineraries in Europe, Asia, Australia, New Zealand, South America, Africa, Canada, Bermuda, Caribbean, Alaska and Hawaii. It also offers an entirely inter-island itinerary in Hawaii. Its brands include Norwegian Cruise Line, Oceania Cruises, and Regent Seven Seas Cruises. The company was founded in 1966 and is headquartered in Miami, FL.

About KNOT Offshore Partners

(Get Rating)

KNOT Offshore Partners LP is engaged in the operation and acquisition of shuttle tankers under long-term charters. Its fleet consists of sixteen shuttle tankers, which are vessels designed to transport crude oil and condensates from offshore oil field installations to onshore terminals and refineries. The company was founded on February 21, 2013 and is headquartered in Aberdeen, the United Kingdom.