4 Undervalued Freight & Logistics - Marine Stocks for Monday, March 18

By Grace Malone
March 18, 2024
Diamond graphic indicating best value stocks in their industry
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Based on key financial metrics such as the price-to-sales ratio, shareholder yield and the price-earnings ratio, the following 4 stocks made the list for top value stocks in the Freight & Logistics - Marine industry. Those looking for value stocks to add to their portfolio may want to use this list as a starting point for further investment research.

Why Focus on Undervalued Freight & Logistics - Marine Stocks?

Value investors seek to buy stocks at a discount to their intrinsic value. Long-term returns show that such strategies are advantageous. Value stocks, as a group, tend to outperform growth stocks over extended periods of time. Typically, value investors perform financial analysis of numerous metrics, don’t follow the herd and are long-term investors.

AAII’s A+ Investor Value Grade is derived from a stock’s Value Score. The Value Score is the percentile rank of the average of the percentile ranks of the price-to-sales ratio, price-earnings ratio, enterprise-value-to-EBITDA (EV/EBITDA) ratio, shareholder yield, price-to-book-value ratio and price-to-free-cash-flow ratio. The score is variable, meaning it can consider all six ratios or, should any of the six ratios not be valid, the remaining ratios that are valid. To be assigned a Value Score, stocks must have a valid (non-null) ratio and corresponding ranking for at least two of the six valuation ratios.

What Goes Into AAII’s Value Grade?

Stock evaluation requires access to huge amounts of data as well as the knowledge and time to sift through it all, make sense of financial ratios, read income statements and analyze recent stock movement. AAII created A+ Investor, a robust data suite that condenses data research in an actionable and customizable way suitable for investors of all knowledge levels, to help investors with that task.

AAII’s proprietary stock grades come with A+ Investor. These offer intuitive A–F grades for more than just value. It is possible for a stock to appear cheap based on one valuation metric but appear expensive on another. It is also possible for one valuation ratio to be associated with outperforming stocks during certain periods of time but not others. Some stocks may even have null values for certain metrics like the price-earnings ratio or the price-to-book ratio but not others. An example of this would be a company with losses instead of profits or a negative book value because of heavy borrowing. Negative earnings or book value result in non-meaningful ratios that are left blank or null.

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4 Undervalued Freight & Logistics - Marine Stocks

Of course, there are countless value stocks that are worth mentioning, but this is a concise list of the top 4 undervalued stocks in the Freight & Logistics - Marine industry for Monday, March 18, 2024. Let’s take a closer look at their individual scores to see how they measure up against each other and the Freight & Logistics - Marine industry median.

Company Ticker Price/Sales Price/Earnings EV/EBITDA Shareholder Yield Price/Book Value Price/Free Cash Flow Value Grade
Costamare Inc CMRE 0.87 3.8 5.6 7.3% 0.55 na A
Castor Maritime Inc CTRM 0.41 na 1.7 (2.1%) 0.09 1.2 A
Grindrod Shipping Holdings Ltd GRIN 0.51 na 4.0 (1.3%) 0.69 4.7 A
TOP SHIPS Inc TOPS 0.24 1.0 6.0 (793.2%) 0.16 na A

The Value Grade is assigned based on how each stock’s composite valuation compares to all other stocks.

The process for assigning grades starts with each variable for a given stock. The percentile rankings for all valid ratios that a stock has are calculated. So, for instance, a stock could have a price-to-book ranking in the 43rd percentile, a price-earnings ranking in the 67th percentile, a price-to-sales ranking in the 23rd percentile, etc. Then, those rankings are averaged for each stock. (A minimum of two valid variables are required, though all six will be used if available.)

Once the average of the individual variables is calculated, that average is ranked against all stocks. Put another way, each stock’s composite valuation is compared to all other stocks. These ranks are then sorted into quintiles from the cheapest 20% (a grade of A) to the most expensive 20% (a grade of F).

As always, we recommend that you conduct proper due diligence and research before investing in any security. We also suggest that investors utilize numerous grades, not just value, when it comes to deciding whether a company is a good fit for their allocation needs.

Costamare Inc’s Value Grade

Value Grade:

Metric Score CMRE Industry Median
Price/Sales 31 0.87 1.17
Price/Earnings 4 3.8 7.1
EV/EBITDA 21 5.6 5.9
Shareholder Yield 12 7.3% 2.6%
Price/Book Value 12 0.55 0.66
Price/Free Cash Flow na na 5.5

Costamare Inc is a Monaco-based company that provides containerships and dry bulk vessels for charter. The Company is an international shipping industry that offers a fleet of 73 containerships, with a total capacity of approximately 537,000 TEU (including two vessels that have agreed to sell) and 45 dry bulk vessels with a total capacity of approximately 2,436,000 DWT. Its offers containerships of various sizes (including feeder, panamax and post-panamax containerships) serve short, medium, and long-haul routes on a variety of geographical trades. Its dry bulk vessels transport a broad range of bulks such as iron ore, coal, and grains as well as minor bulks such as bauxite, phosphate fertilizers and steel products. The Company serve its customer's needs worldwide and ensure the safety, reliability, and environmental responsibility of services.

Stocks with a Value Score from 81 to 100 are considered deep value, those with a score between 61 and 80 are value and so on.

Costamare Inc has a Value Score of 98, which is considered to be undervalued.

When you look at Costamare Inc’s price-to-sales ratio at 0.87 compared to the industry median at 1.17, this company has a lower price relative to revenue compared to its peers. This could make Costamare Inc’s stock more attractive for value investors.

Costamare Inc’s price-earnings ratio is 3.80 compared to the industry median at 7.14. This means it has a lower share price relative to earnings compared to its peers. This could make Costamare Inc more attractive for value investors.

Now, let’s assess Costamare Inc’s EV/EBITDA ratio, also known as enterprise multiple. At 5.6, when compared to the industry median of 5.9, the company may be considered undervalued in relation to its peers. Value investors could use the enterprise multiple to identify stocks that are considered overvalued or undervalued relative to their industry.

Shareholder yield is the sum of a stock’s dividend yield (paid over previous 12 months minus special dividends) and the percentage of net share buybacks over the previous 12 months. Costamare Inc’s shareholder yield is higher than its industry median ratio of 2.57%. Value investors may look for an attractive shareholder yield because it can be a powerful tool for identifying if the company has a good management team.

As one of the most common value metrics, the price-to-book ratio evaluates a company’s current market price relative to its book value. Costamare Inc’s price-to-book ratio is lower than its industry median ratio of 0.66. This could make Costamare Inc more attractive to investors looking for a new addition to their portfolio.

Castor Maritime Inc’s Value Grade

Value Grade:

Metric Score CTRM Industry Median
Price/Sales 16 0.41 1.17
Price/Earnings na na 7.1
EV/EBITDA 5 1.7 5.9
Shareholder Yield 66 (2.1%) 2.6%
Price/Book Value 1 0.09 0.66
Price/Free Cash Flow 2 1.2 5.5

Castor Maritime Inc. is a Cyprus-based company. The Company is engaged in the ocean transportation of dry bulk cargoes worldwide through the ownership and operation of bulk carrier vessels. It also aims to increase its fleet through acquisitions of new and modern vessels.

Stocks with a Value Score from 81 to 100 are considered deep value, those with a score between 61 and 80 are value and so on.

Castor Maritime Inc has a Value Score of 97, which is considered to be undervalued.

Castor Maritime Inc’s price-to-book ratio is higher than its peers. This could make Castor Maritime Inc less attractive for value investors when compared to the industry median at 0.66.

You can read more about Castor Maritime Inc’s key financial metrics like shareholder yield, price-to-free-cash-flow and EV/EBITDA ratio, or learn more about its Momentum and Growth Grades, by subscribing to A+ Investor.

Grindrod Shipping Holdings Ltd’s Value Grade

Value Grade:

Metric Score GRIN Industry Median
Price/Sales 20 0.51 1.17
Price/Earnings na na 7.1
EV/EBITDA 12 4.0 5.9
Shareholder Yield 61 (1.3%) 2.6%
Price/Book Value 17 0.69 0.66
Price/Free Cash Flow 10 4.7 5.5

Grindrod Shipping Holdings Ltd. is a Singapore-based shipping company that owns, charters-in and operates a fleet of drybulk carriers. The Company operates the drybulk carriers? business, which is divided into three segments: Handysize, Supramax/Ultramax, and Others. The drybulk business, which operates under the brand Island View Shipping (IVS), includes a core fleet of approximately 29 vessels, consisting of 14 handysize drybulk carriers and 15 supramax/ultramax drybulk carriers. Its drybulk carriers transport a range of major and minor bulk and breakbulk commodities, including ores, coal, grains, forestry products, steel products, and fertilizers, along worldwide shipping routes and are employed in pools of similarly sized vessels or in the spot market. Its subsidiaries include Comshipco Schiffahrtsagentur GmBH, Grindrod Shipping Pte. Ltd., Grindrod Shipping Services UK Limited, Grindrod Shipping (South Africa) (Pty) Ltd, IM Shipping Pte. Ltd., and IVS Bulk Pte. Ltd., among others.

Stocks with a Value Score from 81 to 100 are considered deep value, those with a score between 61 and 80 are value and so on.

Grindrod Shipping Holdings Ltd has a Value Score of 92, which is considered to be undervalued.

Grindrod Shipping Holdings Ltd’s price-to-book ratio is lower than its peers. This could make Grindrod Shipping Holdings Ltd fairly attractive for value investors when compared to the industry median at 0.66.

You can read more about Grindrod Shipping Holdings Ltd’s key financial metrics like shareholder yield, price-to-free-cash-flow and EV/EBITDA ratio, or learn more about its Momentum and Growth Grades, by subscribing to A+ Investor.

TOP SHIPS Inc’s Value Grade

Value Grade:

Metric Score TOPS Industry Median
Price/Sales 9 0.24 1.17
Price/Earnings 1 1.0 7.1
EV/EBITDA 23 6.0 5.9
Shareholder Yield 100 (793.2%) 2.6%
Price/Book Value 2 0.16 0.66
Price/Free Cash Flow na na 5.5

Top Ships Inc is a Greece-based international provider of worldwide oil, petroleum products, and chemicals transportation services. The Company owns and operates eco tanker vessels focusing on the transportation of crude oil, petroleum products (clean and dirty), and bulk liquid chemicals. The Company’s fleet consists of 3 product/chemical MR2 tankers of approximately 50,000 deadweight tonnage (dwt) each, namely ECO MARINA DEL REY, ECO YOSEMITE PARK, and ECO JOSHUA PARK; 5 crude oil Suezmax tankers of approximately 157,000 dwt each, namely ECO BEL AIR, ECO BEVERLY HILLS, ECO WEST COAST, ECO MALIBU, and ECO OCEANO CA, as well as 2 crude oil VLCC tankers of approximately 300,000 dwt each, namely JULIUS CAESAR and LEGIO X EQUESTRIS.

Stocks with a Value Score from 81 to 100 are considered deep value, those with a score between 61 and 80 are value and so on.

TOP SHIPS Inc has a Value Score of 88, which is considered to be undervalued.

TOP SHIPS Inc’s price-earnings ratio is 1.0 compared to the industry median at 7.1. This means that it has a lower price relative to its earnings compared to its peers. This makes TOP SHIPS Inc more attractive for value investors.

TOP SHIPS Inc’s price-to-book ratio is higher than its peers. This could make TOP SHIPS Inc less attractive for value investors when compared to the industry median at 0.66.

You can read more about TOP SHIPS Inc’s key financial metrics like shareholder yield, price-to-free-cash-flow and EV/EBITDA ratio, or learn more about its Momentum and Growth Grades, by subscribing to A+ Investor.

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Other Freight & Logistics - Marine Stock Grades

Value is just one of the five Stock Grades included in our A+ Investor service. AAII members can see the top-graded stocks—those with grades of A or B for value, growth, momentum, earnings estimate revisions and quality—on the A+ Stock Grades Screener.

Also, if you want full access to all of AAII’s premium services, you can subscribe to one convenient bundled plan called AAII Platinum where you can try out A+ Investor, AAII Dividend Investing, the Stock Superstars Report, Growth Investing and VMQ Stocks. With the other premium services, you can dive deep into additional metrics, portfolios, commentary and information about Freight & Logistics - Marine stocks as well as other industrys.

Choosing Which of the 4 Best Freight & Logistics - Marine Stocks Is Right for You

Choosing which value stocks to invest in will ultimately depend on your individual goals and allocation; however, comparing similar value stocks in the same industry can help you analyze which might be better investments for you in the long run. So, let’s take a look at the Value Grade for all of our stocks.

  • Costamare Inc stock has a Value Grade of A.
  • Castor Maritime Inc stock has a Value Grade of A.
  • Grindrod Shipping Holdings Ltd stock has a Value Grade of A.
  • TOP SHIPS Inc stock has a Value Grade of A.

Now that you have a bit more background about each of the 4 undervalued stocks in the Freight & Logistics - Marine industry as well as their overall grades, it’s time for you to conduct additional research to see if these could fit your portfolio needs based on your goals and risk tolerance. AAII can help you figure out both and identify which investments align with what works best for you.

We do so through a program of education that teaches you to invest for yourself and become an effective manager of your own wealth—no more relying on others for your financial independence. You can rely on AAII for timeless articles on financial planning and stock-picking, unbiased research and actionable analysis that makes you a better investor.

A+ Investor adds to that qualitative teaching by giving you a powerful data suite that helps you whittle down investment decisions to find stocks, exchange-traded funds (ETFs) or mutual funds that meet your needs.

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Additional Resources About Freight & Logistics - Marine Stocks

Want to learn more about Freight & Logistics - Marine stocks to see if they could be the right investment for you? Check out some additional resources and articles to help you on your financial journey.

AAII Disclaimer

We make no representations or warranties that any investor will, or is likely to, achieve profits similar to those shown, because past, hypothetical or simulated performance is not necessarily indicative of future results. Before making an investment decision, you should consider your circumstances and whether the information on our content is applicable to your situation. This information was prepared in good faith and we accept no liability for any errors or omissions. The full disclaimer can be read here.



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