Critical Analysis: Zion Oil & Gas (OTCMKTS:ZNOG) vs. EQT (NYSE:EQT)

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

Institutional & Insider Ownership

90.8% of EQT shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 7.9% of Zion Oil & Gas shares are held by institutional investors. 0.7% of EQT shares are held by insiders. Comparatively, 2.7% of Zion Oil & Gas shares are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, endowments and large money managers believe a company will outperform the market over the long term.

Risk & Volatility

EQT has a beta of 0.55, meaning that its stock price is 45% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Zion Oil & Gas has a beta of 1.89, meaning that its stock price is 89% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Profitability

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

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
EQT	22.59%	6.88%	4.32%
Zion Oil & Gas	N/A	-22.49%	-20.24%

Valuation and Earnings

This table compares EQT and Zion Oil & Gas”s revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
EQT	$7.89 billion	4.58	$230.58 million	$2.92	19.84
Zion Oil & Gas	N/A	N/A	-$7.34 million	($1.77)	-0.10

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

Analyst Ratings

This is a summary of current ratings and recommmendations for EQT and Zion Oil & Gas, as reported by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
EQT	0	7	18	0	2.72
Zion Oil & Gas	0	0	0	0	0.00

EQT currently has a consensus price target of $63.52, indicating a potential upside of 9.65%. Given EQT’s stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, equities research analysts plainly believe EQT is more favorable than Zion Oil & Gas.

Summary

EQT beats Zion Oil & Gas on 11 of the 13 factors compared between the two stocks.

About EQT

EQT Corporation operates as a natural gas production company in the United States. The company sells natural gas and natural gas liquids to marketers, utilities, and industrial customers through pipelines located in the Appalachian Basin. It also offers marketing services and contractual pipeline capacity management services. The company was formerly known as Equitable Resources Inc. and changed its name to EQT Corporation in February 2009. EQT Corporation was founded in 1878 and is headquartered in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.

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.