Chesapeake Energy (OTCMKTS:CHKAQ) versus Canadian Natural Resources (NYSE:CNQ) Critical Survey

Canadian Natural Resources (NYSE:CNQ) and Chesapeake Energy (OTCMKTS:CHKAQ) are both oils/energy companies, but which is the superior business? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their risk, dividends, profitability, valuation, institutional ownership, earnings and analyst recommendations.

Institutional and Insider Ownership

74.0% of Canadian Natural Resources shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 2.0% of Chesapeake Energy shares are owned by institutional investors. 5.0% of Canadian Natural Resources shares are owned by insiders. Comparatively, 1.1% of Chesapeake Energy shares are owned by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, hedge funds and large money managers believe a stock will outperform the market over the long term.

Analyst Ratings

This is a summary of recent ratings and recommmendations for Canadian Natural Resources and Chesapeake Energy, as provided by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Canadian Natural Resources	0	5	2	0	2.29
Chesapeake Energy	0	0	0	0	N/A

Canadian Natural Resources presently has a consensus price target of $94.00, indicating a potential upside of 23.73%. Given Canadian Natural Resources’ higher probable upside, equities analysts plainly believe Canadian Natural Resources is more favorable than Chesapeake Energy.

Volatility & Risk

Canadian Natural Resources has a beta of 1.52, suggesting that its share price is 52% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Chesapeake Energy has a beta of 1.25, suggesting that its share price is 25% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Profitability

This table compares Canadian Natural Resources and Chesapeake Energy’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Canadian Natural Resources	18.21%	20.58%	10.69%
Chesapeake Energy	-162.46%	N/A	-3.45%

Valuation and Earnings

This table compares Canadian Natural Resources and Chesapeake Energy’s top-line revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Canadian Natural Resources	$40.71 billion	2.00	$6.10 billion	$5.02	15.13
Chesapeake Energy	$8.49 billion	0.00	-$308.00 million	($54.00)	-0.06

Canadian Natural Resources has higher revenue and earnings than Chesapeake Energy. Chesapeake Energy 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.

Summary

Canadian Natural Resources beats Chesapeake Energy on 13 of the 13 factors compared between the two stocks.

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.

About Chesapeake Energy

Chesapeake Energy Corp. is an independent exploration and production company, which engages in acquisition, exploration and development of properties for the production of oil, natural gas and natural gas liquids from underground reservoirs. It focuses on projects located in Louisiana, Ohio, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, Texas, and Wyoming. The company was founded by Aubrey K. McClendon and Tom L. Ward on May 18, 1989 and is headquartered in Oklahoma City, OK.