Baytex Energy (NYSE:BTE – Get Free Report) and Canadian Natural Resources (NYSE:CNQ – Get Free Report) are both energy companies, but which is the superior investment? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their institutional ownership, earnings, risk, profitability, valuation, analyst recommendations and dividends.
Valuation & Earnings
This table compares Baytex Energy and Canadian Natural Resources”s revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.
| Gross Revenue | Price/Sales Ratio | Net Income | Earnings Per Share | Price/Earnings Ratio | |
| Baytex Energy | $2.56 billion | 1.23 | -$432.12 million | ($0.57) | -7.57 |
| Canadian Natural Resources | $31.61 billion | 3.06 | $7.74 billion | $3.69 | 12.55 |
Profitability
This table compares Baytex Energy and Canadian Natural Resources’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.
| Net Margins | Return on Equity | Return on Assets | |
| Baytex Energy | -16.96% | -5.44% | -3.07% |
| Canadian Natural Resources | 24.48% | 17.84% | 8.55% |
Risk & Volatility
Baytex Energy has a beta of 0.32, indicating that its stock price is 68% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Canadian Natural Resources has a beta of 0.53, indicating that its stock price is 47% less volatile than the S&P 500.
Dividends
Baytex Energy pays an annual dividend of $0.07 per share and has a dividend yield of 1.6%. Canadian Natural Resources pays an annual dividend of $1.83 per share and has a dividend yield of 4.0%. Baytex Energy pays out -12.3% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Canadian Natural Resources pays out 49.6% 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. Canadian Natural Resources has raised its dividend for 24 consecutive years. Canadian Natural Resources is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and longer track record of dividend growth.
Analyst Recommendations
This is a breakdown of recent ratings for Baytex Energy and Canadian Natural Resources, as provided by MarketBeat.
| Sell Ratings | Hold Ratings | Buy Ratings | Strong Buy Ratings | Rating Score | |
| Baytex Energy | 1 | 4 | 3 | 1 | 2.44 |
| Canadian Natural Resources | 0 | 6 | 6 | 0 | 2.50 |
Canadian Natural Resources has a consensus price target of $57.00, indicating a potential upside of 23.07%. Given Canadian Natural Resources’ stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, analysts plainly believe Canadian Natural Resources is more favorable than Baytex Energy.
Insider and Institutional Ownership
46.2% of Baytex Energy shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 74.0% of Canadian Natural Resources shares are owned by institutional investors. 0.8% of Baytex Energy shares are owned by insiders. Comparatively, 5.0% of Canadian Natural Resources shares are owned by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, hedge funds and large money managers believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.
Summary
Canadian Natural Resources beats Baytex Energy on 16 of the 18 factors compared between the two stocks.
About Baytex Energy
Baytex Energy Corp. is an oil & gas exploration and production company. The firm engages in the acquisition, development and production of crude oil and natural gas in the Western Canadian Sedimentary Basin and in the Eagle Ford in the United States. The company was founded on June 3, 1993 and is headquartered in Calgary, Canada.
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.
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