Canadian Natural Resources (NYSE:CNQ) versus Chesapeake Energy (OTCMKTS:CHKAQ) Financial Contrast

Chesapeake Energy (OTCMKTS:CHKAQ) and Canadian Natural Resources (NYSE:CNQ) are both oils/energy companies, but which is the superior stock? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their risk, earnings, analyst recommendations, dividends, valuation, institutional ownership and profitability.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a summary of recent ratings and recommmendations for Chesapeake Energy and Canadian Natural Resources, as reported by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Chesapeake Energy	0	0	0	0	N/A
Canadian Natural Resources	0	5	2	0	2.29

Canadian Natural Resources has a consensus price target of $94.00, suggesting a potential upside of 25.48%. Given Canadian Natural Resources’ higher probable upside, analysts clearly believe Canadian Natural Resources is more favorable than Chesapeake Energy.

Earnings and Valuation

This table compares Chesapeake Energy and Canadian Natural Resources’ revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Chesapeake Energy	$8.49 billion	0.00	-$308.00 million	($54.00)	-0.06
Canadian Natural Resources	$30.25 billion	2.66	$6.10 billion	$5.54	13.52

Canadian Natural Resources has higher revenue and earnings than Chesapeake Energy. Chesapeake Energy is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Canadian Natural Resources, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Volatility and Risk

Chesapeake Energy has a beta of 1.25, indicating that its share price is 25% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Canadian Natural Resources has a beta of 1.52, indicating that its share price is 52% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Profitability

This table compares Chesapeake Energy and Canadian Natural Resources’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Chesapeake Energy	-162.46%	N/A	-3.45%
Canadian Natural Resources	20.15%	21.74%	11.25%

Insider and Institutional Ownership

2.0% of Chesapeake Energy shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 74.0% of Canadian Natural Resources shares are held by institutional investors. 1.1% of Chesapeake Energy shares are held by insiders. Comparatively, 5.0% of Canadian Natural Resources shares are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, large money managers and hedge funds believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Summary

Canadian Natural Resources beats Chesapeake Energy on 13 of the 13 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Chesapeake Energy

Chesapeake Energy Corp. is an independent exploration and production company, which engages in acquisition, exploration and development of properties for the production of oil, natural gas and natural gas liquids from underground reservoirs. It focuses on projects located in Louisiana, Ohio, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, Texas, and Wyoming. The company was founded by Aubrey K. McClendon and Tom L. Ward on May 18, 1989 and is headquartered in Oklahoma City, OK.

About Canadian Natural Resources

Canadian Natural Resources Limited acquires, explores for, develops, produces, markets, and sells crude oil, natural gas, and natural gas liquids (NGLs). The company offers light and medium crude oil, primary heavy crude oil, Pelican Lake heavy crude oil, bitumen (thermal oil), and synthetic crude oil (SCO). The company's midstream assets include two pipeline systems; and a 50% working interest in an 84-megawatt cogeneration plant at Primrose. It operates primarily in Western Canada; the United Kingdom portion of the North Sea; and Offshore Africa. The company was formerly known as AEX Minerals Corporation and changed its name to Canadian Natural Resources Limited in December 1975. Canadian Natural Resources Limited was incorporated in 1973 and is headquartered in Calgary, Canada.