Dynagas LNG Partners (NYSE:DLNG) vs. Schneider National (NYSE:SNDR) Financial Contrast

Dynagas LNG Partners (NYSE:DLNG) and Schneider National (NYSE:SNDR) are both transportation companies, but which is the better investment? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their dividends, risk, analyst recommendations, institutional ownership, profitability, valuation and earnings.

Insider & Institutional Ownership

28.5% of Schneider National shares are held by institutional investors. 32.7% of Schneider National shares are held by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, endowments and hedge funds believe a stock will outperform the market over the long term.

Dividends

Dynagas LNG Partners pays an annual dividend of $0.20 per share and has a dividend yield of 5.2%. Schneider National pays an annual dividend of $0.38 per share and has a dividend yield of 1.6%. Dynagas LNG Partners pays out 17.9% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Schneider National pays out 54.3% 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. Schneider National has raised its dividend for 2 consecutive years. Dynagas LNG Partners is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and lower payout ratio.

Profitability

This table compares Dynagas LNG Partners and Schneider National’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Dynagas LNG Partners	35.60%	16.11%	6.93%
Schneider National	2.29%	4.39%	2.70%

Volatility & Risk

Dynagas LNG Partners has a beta of 0.84, indicating that its stock price is 16% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Schneider National has a beta of 1.11, indicating that its stock price is 11% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a breakdown of current recommendations for Dynagas LNG Partners and Schneider National, as reported by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Dynagas LNG Partners	0	0	0	0	0.00
Schneider National	0	9	5	1	2.47

Schneider National has a consensus target price of $27.36, indicating a potential upside of 14.80%. Given Schneider National’s stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, analysts plainly believe Schneider National is more favorable than Dynagas LNG Partners.

Earnings and Valuation

This table compares Dynagas LNG Partners and Schneider National”s top-line revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Dynagas LNG Partners	$156.40 million	0.91	$51.55 million	$1.12	3.45
Schneider National	$5.29 billion	0.79	$117.00 million	$0.70	34.04

Schneider National has higher revenue and earnings than Dynagas LNG Partners. Dynagas LNG Partners is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Schneider National, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Summary

Schneider National beats Dynagas LNG Partners on 11 of the 18 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Dynagas LNG Partners

Dynagas LNG Partners LP, through its subsidiaries, operates in the seaborne transportation industry in Greece and internationally. The company owns and operates liquefied natural gas (LNG) carriers. Its fleet consists of six LNG carriers with an aggregate carrying capacity of approximately 914,000 cubic meters. Dynagas GP LLC serves as the general partner of Dynagas LNG Partners LP. The company was incorporated in 2013 and is headquartered in Athens, Greece.

About Schneider National

Schneider National, Inc., together with its subsidiaries, provides surface transportation and logistics solutions in the United States, Canada, and Mexico. It operates through three segments: Truckload, Intermodal, and Logistics. The Truckload segment offers over the road freight transportation services primarily through dry van, bulk, temperature-controlled, and flat-bed trailers across either network or dedicated configurations. The Intermodal segment provides door-to-door container on flat car services through a combination of rail and dray transportation using company-owned containers, chassis, and trucks. The Logistics segment offers asset-light freight brokerage, supply chain, warehousing, and import/export services to manage and move its customers' freight. The company leases equipment, such as trucks to owner-operators; and provides insurance for the company drivers and owner-operators. Schneider National, Inc. was founded in 1935 and is headquartered in Green Bay, Wisconsin.