Contrasting C3is (NASDAQ:CISS) and Capital Clean Energy Carriers (NASDAQ:CCEC)

Capital Clean Energy Carriers (NASDAQ:CCEC) and C3is (NASDAQ:CISS) are both small-cap transportation companies, but which is the better stock? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their dividends, institutional ownership, earnings, analyst recommendations, risk, profitability and valuation.

Analyst Ratings

This is a breakdown of current ratings and target prices for Capital Clean Energy Carriers and C3is, as reported by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Capital Clean Energy Carriers	0	1	2	0	2.67
C3is	0	0	0	0	0.00

Capital Clean Energy Carriers presently has a consensus price target of $24.00, suggesting a potential upside of 22.45%. Given Capital Clean Energy Carriers’ stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, equities research analysts clearly believe Capital Clean Energy Carriers is more favorable than C3is.

Profitability

This table compares Capital Clean Energy Carriers and C3is’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Capital Clean Energy Carriers	46.85%	9.76%	3.16%
C3is	5.74%	19.35%	11.24%

Valuation and Earnings

This table compares Capital Clean Energy Carriers and C3is”s gross revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Capital Clean Energy Carriers	$369.41 million	3.10	$193.63 million	$2.56	7.66
C3is	$42.30 million	0.00	$9.29 million	($5.87)	-0.12

Capital Clean Energy Carriers has higher revenue and earnings than C3is. C3is is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Capital Clean Energy Carriers, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Institutional and Insider Ownership

10.5% of C3is shares are owned by institutional investors. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, large money managers and endowments believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Risk & Volatility

Capital Clean Energy Carriers has a beta of 0.77, indicating that its stock price is 23% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, C3is has a beta of 2.15, indicating that its stock price is 115% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Summary

Capital Clean Energy Carriers beats C3is on 9 of the 13 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Capital Clean Energy Carriers

Capital Clean Energy Carriers Corp., a shipping company, provides marine transportation services in Greece. The company’s vessels provide a range of cargoes, including liquefied natural gas, containerized goods, and cargo under short-term voyage charters, and medium to long-term time charters. It owns vessels, including Neo-Panamax container vessels, Panamax container vessels, cape-size bulk carrier, and LNG carriers. In addition, the company produces and distributes oil and natural gas, including biofuels, motor oil, lubricants, petrol, crudes, liquefied natural gas, marine fuels, natural gas liquids, and petrochemicals. It serves as the general partner of the company. The company was formerly known as Capital Product Partners L.P. and changed its name to Capital Clean Energy Carriers Corp. in August 2024. Capital Clean Energy Carriers Corp. was incorporated in 2007 and is headquartered in Piraeus, Greece. Capital Clean Energy Carriers Corp. operates as a subsidiary of Capital Maritime & Trading Corp.

About C3is

C3is Inc. offers international seaborne transportation services. It provides its services to dry bulk charterers, including national and private industrial users, commodity producers and traders, oil producers, refineries, and commodities traders and producers. The company owns and operates a fleet of two drybulk carriers, which transport major bulks, such as iron ore, coal and grains, as well as minor bulks comprising bauxite, phosphate, and fertilizers, and one Aframax crude oil tanker that transports crude oil. C3is Inc. was founded in 2021 and is based in Athens, Greece.