Brookfield Infrastructure Partners (NYSE: BIP) and International Seaways (NYSE:INSW) are both utilities companies, but which is the better business? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their profitability, dividends, analyst recommendations, institutional ownership, valuation, risk and earnings.
Profitability
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This table compares Brookfield Infrastructure Partners and International Seaways’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.
| Net Margins | Return on Equity | Return on Assets | |
| Brookfield Infrastructure Partners | 5.40% | 2.31% | 1.01% |
| International Seaways | -60.58% | -3.73% | -2.51% |
Risk & Volatility
Brookfield Infrastructure Partners has a beta of 0.96, indicating that its share price is 4% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, International Seaways has a beta of -0.58, indicating that its share price is 158% less volatile than the S&P 500.
Valuation & Earnings
This table compares Brookfield Infrastructure Partners and International Seaways’ revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.
| Gross Revenue | Price/Sales Ratio | Net Income | Earnings Per Share | Price/Earnings Ratio | |
| Brookfield Infrastructure Partners | $3.54 billion | 3.78 | $124.00 million | $1.51 | 25.62 |
| International Seaways | $290.10 million | 1.98 | -$106.08 million | ($0.29) | -67.90 |
Brookfield Infrastructure Partners has higher revenue and earnings than International Seaways. International Seaways is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Brookfield Infrastructure Partners, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.
Analyst Recommendations
This is a summary of recent recommendations for Brookfield Infrastructure Partners and International Seaways, as provided by MarketBeat.
| Sell Ratings | Hold Ratings | Buy Ratings | Strong Buy Ratings | Rating Score | |
| Brookfield Infrastructure Partners | 0 | 1 | 8 | 0 | 2.89 |
| International Seaways | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 3.00 |
Brookfield Infrastructure Partners currently has a consensus target price of $46.58, suggesting a potential upside of 20.40%. International Seaways has a consensus target price of $29.00, suggesting a potential upside of 47.28%. Given International Seaways’ stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, analysts plainly believe International Seaways is more favorable than Brookfield Infrastructure Partners.
Institutional and Insider Ownership
38.2% of Brookfield Infrastructure Partners shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 84.8% of International Seaways shares are owned by institutional investors. 0.9% of International Seaways shares are owned by 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
Brookfield Infrastructure Partners pays an annual dividend of $1.88 per share and has a dividend yield of 4.9%. International Seaways does not pay a dividend. Brookfield Infrastructure Partners pays out 124.5% of its earnings in the form of a dividend, suggesting it may not have sufficient earnings to cover its dividend payment in the future. Brookfield Infrastructure Partners has increased its dividend for 8 consecutive years.
Summary
Brookfield Infrastructure Partners beats International Seaways on 11 of the 16 factors compared between the two stocks.
Brookfield Infrastructure Partners Company Profile
Brookfield Infrastructure Partners L.P. engages in utility, transport, energy, and communications infrastructure businesses. The company's Utilities segment operates approximately 2,000 kilometers (km) of natural gas transportation pipelines in the states of Rio de Janeiro, Sao Paulo, and Minas Gerais; approximately 12,000 km of electricity transmission lines in North and South America; approximately 3.3 million electricity and natural gas connections in the United Kingdom and Colombia; and a port facility that exports metallurgical and thermal coal in Australia. Its Transport segment offers transportation, storage, and handling services for freight, bulk commodities, and passengers through a network of 5,500 km of track network in south of Western Australia; approximately 4,800 km of rail in South America; approximately 4,000 km of motorways in Brazil, Chile, Peru, and India; and 37 port terminals in North America, the United Kingdom, Australia, and Europe. The company's Energy segment offers energy transportation, distribution, and storage services through approximately 15,000 km of natural gas transmission pipelines; and 600 billion cubic feet of natural gas storage in the United States and Canada. This segment also provides heating, cooling, and energy solutions; and distributed natural gas, water, and wastewater services to approximately 59,000 commercial and residential customers. Its Communications Infrastructure segment offers services and critical infrastructure to the media broadcasting and telecom sectors. It has approximately 7,000 multi-purpose towers and active rooftop sites; and 5,000 km of fiber backbone located in France. Brookfield Infrastructure Partners Limited serves as the general partner of the company. Brookfield Infrastructure Partners L.P. was founded in 2007 and is based in Hamilton, Bermuda. The company is a subsidiary of Brookfield Asset Management Inc.
International Seaways Company Profile
International Seaways, Inc. owns and operates a fleet of oceangoing vessels for the transportation of crude oil and petroleum products in the International Flag trades. It operates through two segments, Crude Tankers and Product Carriers. As of March 8, 2018, the company owned or operated a fleet of 53 vessels, including 1 ultra large crude carrier, 9 very large crude carriers, 2 Suezmaxes, 8 Aframaxes, 12 Panamaxes, and 15 medium range tankers. International Seaways, Inc., through joint venture partnerships, also has ownership interests in 4 liquefied natural gas carriers, and 2 floating storage and offloading service vessels. It serves independent and state-owned oil companies, oil traders, refinery operators, and international government entities. The company was formerly known as OSG International, Inc. and changed its name to International Seaways, Inc. in October 2016. The company was incorporated in 1999 and is headquartered in New York, New York.
