Northern Oil and Gas (NYSE:NOG – Get Free Report) and YPF Sociedad Anónima (NYSE:YPF – Get Free Report) are both energy companies, but which is the better business? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their risk, valuation, earnings, dividends, institutional ownership, profitability and analyst recommendations.
Insider and Institutional Ownership
98.8% of Northern Oil and Gas shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 10.1% of YPF Sociedad Anónima shares are owned by institutional investors. 2.8% of Northern Oil and Gas shares are owned by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, endowments and hedge funds believe a stock will outperform the market over the long term.
Profitability
This table compares Northern Oil and Gas and YPF Sociedad Anónima’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.
| Net Margins | Return on Equity | Return on Assets | |
| Northern Oil and Gas | -25.35% | 18.69% | 6.85% |
| YPF Sociedad Anónima | 3.60% | 10.86% | 4.20% |
Dividends
Northern Oil and Gas pays an annual dividend of $1.80 per share and has a dividend yield of 6.4%. YPF Sociedad Anónima pays an annual dividend of $0.14 per share and has a dividend yield of 0.3%. Northern Oil and Gas pays out -34.7% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. YPF Sociedad Anónima pays out 7.3% 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. Northern Oil and Gas has raised its dividend for 4 consecutive years. Northern Oil and Gas is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and longer track record of dividend growth.
Valuation and Earnings
This table compares Northern Oil and Gas and YPF Sociedad Anónima”s revenue, earnings per share and valuation.
| Gross Revenue | Price/Sales Ratio | Net Income | Earnings Per Share | Price/Earnings Ratio | |
| Northern Oil and Gas | $2.16 billion | 1.40 | $38.76 million | ($5.18) | -5.46 |
| YPF Sociedad Anónima | $20.59 billion | 0.97 | -$826.00 million | $1.90 | 26.66 |
Northern Oil and Gas has higher earnings, but lower revenue than YPF Sociedad Anónima. Northern Oil and Gas is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than YPF Sociedad Anónima, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.
Volatility and Risk
Northern Oil and Gas has a beta of 0.9, suggesting that its stock price is 10% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, YPF Sociedad Anónima has a beta of 1.22, suggesting that its stock price is 22% more volatile than the S&P 500.
Analyst Recommendations
This is a breakdown of current ratings for Northern Oil and Gas and YPF Sociedad Anónima, as reported by MarketBeat.
| Sell Ratings | Hold Ratings | Buy Ratings | Strong Buy Ratings | Rating Score | |
| Northern Oil and Gas | 2 | 5 | 3 | 0 | 2.10 |
| YPF Sociedad Anónima | 0 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 2.50 |
Northern Oil and Gas currently has a consensus price target of $31.22, suggesting a potential upside of 10.49%. YPF Sociedad Anónima has a consensus price target of $60.33, suggesting a potential upside of 19.12%. Given YPF Sociedad Anónima’s stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, analysts plainly believe YPF Sociedad Anónima is more favorable than Northern Oil and Gas.
Summary
Northern Oil and Gas beats YPF Sociedad Anónima on 9 of the 16 factors compared between the two stocks.
About Northern Oil and Gas
Northern Oil and Gas, Inc., an independent energy company, engages in the acquisition, exploration, exploitation, development, and production of crude oil and natural gas properties in the United States. It primarily holds interests in the Williston Basin, the Appalachian Basin, and the Permian Basin in the United States. The company is based in Minnetonka, Minnesota.
About YPF Sociedad Anónima
YPF Sociedad Anónima, an energy company, engages in the oil and gas upstream and downstream activities in Argentina. Its upstream operations include the exploration, exploitation, and production of crude oil, and natural gas. The company’s downstream operations include petrochemical production and crude oil refining; transportation and distribution refined and petrochemical products; commercialization of crude oil, petrochemical products, and specialties. Its gas and power operations include transportation, commercialization, and distribution of natural gas; operation of regasification terminals; conditioning, processing, and separation of natural gas; and power generation. The company had interests in oil and gas fields. It also had a retail distribution network and retail service stations. In addition, the company owns and operates refineries, as well as maintains terminal facilities Argentine ports. Further, it participates in power generation plants; offers diesel, fertilizers, lubricants, phytosanitary products, and ensiling bags; and supplies diesel, gasoline, fuel oil, coal, asphalts, paraffin, and sulfur, CO2, decanted oil, and aromatic extract. The company was incorporated in 1977 and is based in Buenos Aires, Argentina.
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