Head to Head Comparison: Cheniere Energy (NYSE:LNG) versus Zion Oil & Gas (OTCMKTS:ZNOG)

Cheniere Energy (NYSE:LNG) and Zion Oil & Gas (OTCMKTS:ZNOG) are both energy companies, but which is the better investment? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their analyst recommendations, risk, institutional ownership, dividends, profitability, earnings and valuation.

Volatility and Risk

Cheniere Energy has a beta of 0.37, suggesting that its share price is 63% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Zion Oil & Gas has a beta of 1.54, suggesting that its share price is 54% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Analyst Ratings

This is a summary of recent ratings and target prices for Cheniere Energy and Zion Oil & Gas, as reported by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Cheniere Energy	0	1	16	2	3.05
Zion Oil & Gas	0	0	0	0	0.00

Cheniere Energy presently has a consensus price target of $266.93, indicating a potential upside of 22.07%. Given Cheniere Energy’s stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, equities analysts clearly believe Cheniere Energy is more favorable than Zion Oil & Gas.

Insider and Institutional Ownership

87.3% of Cheniere Energy shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 7.9% of Zion Oil & Gas shares are owned by institutional investors. 0.3% of Cheniere Energy shares are owned by company insiders. Comparatively, 3.0% of Zion Oil & Gas shares are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, endowments and large money managers believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Earnings & Valuation

This table compares Cheniere Energy and Zion Oil & Gas”s top-line revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Cheniere Energy	$18.28 billion	2.63	$3.25 billion	$17.13	12.77
Zion Oil & Gas	N/A	N/A	-$7.34 million	($1.77)	-0.11

Cheniere Energy has higher revenue and earnings than Zion Oil & Gas. Zion Oil & Gas is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Cheniere Energy, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Profitability

This table compares Cheniere Energy and Zion Oil & Gas’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Cheniere Energy	21.05%	37.83%	8.79%
Zion Oil & Gas	N/A	-22.49%	-20.24%

Summary

Cheniere Energy beats Zion Oil & Gas on 12 of the 14 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Cheniere Energy

Cheniere Energy, Inc., an energy infrastructure company, primarily engages in the liquefied natural gas (LNG) related businesses in the United States. It owns and operates the Sabine Pass LNG terminal in Cameron Parish, Louisiana; and the Corpus Christi LNG terminal near Corpus Christi, Texas. The company also owns Creole Trail pipeline, a 94-mile natural gas supply pipeline that interconnects the Sabine Pass LNG Terminal with several interstate and intrastate pipelines; and operates Corpus Christi pipeline, a 21.5-mile natural gas supply pipeline that interconnects the Corpus Christi LNG terminal with various interstate and intrastate natural gas pipelines. It is also involved in the LNG and natural gas marketing business. The company was incorporated in 1983 and is headquartered in Houston, Texas.

About Zion Oil & Gas

Zion Oil & Gas, Inc., together with its subsidiaries, operates as an oil and gas exploration company in Israel. It holds a petroleum exploration license onshore Israel, the New Megiddo License 434 comprising an area of approximately 75,000 acres. The company was incorporated in 2000 and is headquartered in Dallas, Texas.