Canadian Natural Resources (NYSE:CNQ) vs. Magnolia Oil & Gas (NYSE:MGY) Financial Comparison

Magnolia Oil & Gas (NYSE:MGY) and Canadian Natural Resources (NYSE:CNQ) are both oils/energy companies, but which is the better stock? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their profitability, institutional ownership, valuation, earnings, dividends, analyst recommendations and risk.

Insider & Institutional Ownership

94.7% of Magnolia Oil & Gas shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 74.0% of Canadian Natural Resources shares are held by institutional investors. 1.2% of Magnolia Oil & Gas shares are held by company insiders. Comparatively, 5.0% of Canadian Natural Resources shares are held by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, large money managers and endowments believe a stock will outperform the market over the long term.

Analyst Ratings

This is a summary of current recommendations and price targets for Magnolia Oil & Gas and Canadian Natural Resources, as provided by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Magnolia Oil & Gas	1	4	6	0	2.45
Canadian Natural Resources	0	6	1	0	2.14

Magnolia Oil & Gas presently has a consensus price target of $28.70, suggesting a potential upside of 14.18%. Canadian Natural Resources has a consensus price target of $48.13, suggesting a potential upside of 31.13%. Given Canadian Natural Resources’ higher probable upside, analysts clearly believe Canadian Natural Resources is more favorable than Magnolia Oil & Gas.

Profitability

This table compares Magnolia Oil & Gas and Canadian Natural Resources’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Magnolia Oil & Gas	29.44%	21.18%	14.45%
Canadian Natural Resources	18.05%	21.98%	11.45%

Earnings & Valuation

This table compares Magnolia Oil & Gas and Canadian Natural Resources’ revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Magnolia Oil & Gas	$1.23 billion	4.08	$388.30 million	$2.01	12.51
Canadian Natural Resources	$42.49 billion	1.84	$6.10 billion	$2.51	14.62

Canadian Natural Resources has higher revenue and earnings than Magnolia Oil & Gas. Magnolia Oil & Gas 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.

Dividends

Magnolia Oil & Gas pays an annual dividend of $0.52 per share and has a dividend yield of 2.1%. Canadian Natural Resources pays an annual dividend of $1.52 per share and has a dividend yield of 4.1%. Magnolia Oil & Gas pays out 25.9% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Canadian Natural Resources pays out 60.6% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Both companies have healthy payout ratios and should be able to cover their dividend payments with earnings for the next several years.

Volatility & Risk

Magnolia Oil & Gas has a beta of 2.02, suggesting that its stock price is 102% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Canadian Natural Resources has a beta of 1.52, suggesting that its stock price is 52% more volatile than the S&P 500.

About Magnolia Oil & Gas

Magnolia Oil & Gas Corporation, an independent oil and natural gas company, engages in the acquisition, development, exploration, and production of oil, natural gas, and natural gas liquids reserves in the United States. Its properties are located primarily in Karnes County and the Giddings area in South Texas principally comprising the Eagle Ford Shale and the Austin Chalk formation. The company was incorporated in 2017 and is headquartered in Houston, Texas.

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.