Reviewing Nordic American Tankers (NYSE:NAT) & REX American Resources (NYSE:REX)

Nordic American Tankers (NYSE:NAT) and REX American Resources (NYSE:REX) are both small-cap energy companies, but which is the better investment? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their profitability, risk, earnings, valuation, analyst recommendations, dividends and institutional ownership.

Risk & Volatility

Nordic American Tankers has a beta of -0.54, indicating that its stock price is 154% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, REX American Resources has a beta of 0.63, indicating that its stock price is 37% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Insider and Institutional Ownership

44.3% of Nordic American Tankers shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 88.1% of REX American Resources shares are held by institutional investors. 2.9% of Nordic American Tankers shares are held by company insiders. Comparatively, 13.2% of REX American Resources shares are held by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, endowments and large money managers believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.

Earnings & Valuation

This table compares Nordic American Tankers and REX American Resources”s gross revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Nordic American Tankers	$370.40 million	4.26	$12.27 million	$0.59	12.64
REX American Resources	$650.49 million	2.12	$82.95 million	$3.65	11.38

REX American Resources has higher revenue and earnings than Nordic American Tankers. REX American Resources is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Nordic American Tankers, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Profitability

This table compares Nordic American Tankers and REX American Resources’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Nordic American Tankers	47.04%	20.58%	10.38%
REX American Resources	18.31%	16.90%	15.01%

Analyst Recommendations

This is a summary of current recommendations and price targets for Nordic American Tankers and REX American Resources, as provided by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Nordic American Tankers	1	2	2	0	2.20
REX American Resources	0	0	1	0	3.00

Nordic American Tankers currently has a consensus target price of $5.33, suggesting a potential downside of 28.46%. Given Nordic American Tankers’ higher possible upside, equities analysts plainly believe Nordic American Tankers is more favorable than REX American Resources.

Summary

REX American Resources beats Nordic American Tankers on 8 of the 14 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Nordic American Tankers

Nordic American Tankers Limited, a tanker company, acquires and charters double-hull tankers in Bermuda and internationally. It operates a fleet of 20 Suezmax crude oil tankers. The company was incorporated in 1995 and is headquartered in Hamilton, Bermuda.

About REX American Resources

REX American Resources Corporation, together with its subsidiaries, produces and sells ethanol in the United States. The company also offers corn, distillers grains, ethanol, distillers corn oil, gasoline, and natural gas. In addition, it provides dry distillers grains with solubles, which is used as a protein in animal feed. The company was formerly known as REX Stores Corporation and changed its name to REX American Resources Corporation in 2010. REX American Resources Corporation was founded in 1980 and is headquartered in Dayton, Ohio.