Financial Review: Canadian Natural Resources (NYSE:CNQ) versus Gulfport Energy (OTCMKTS:GPORQ)

Canadian Natural Resources (NYSE:CNQ) and Gulfport Energy (OTCMKTS:GPORQ) are both large-cap oils/energy companies, but which is the better investment? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their earnings, profitability, dividends, risk, valuation, analyst recommendations and institutional ownership.

Insider and Institutional Ownership

74.0% of Canadian Natural Resources shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 0.0% of Gulfport Energy shares are held by institutional investors. 5.0% of Canadian Natural Resources shares are held by company insiders. Comparatively, 0.5% of Gulfport Energy shares are held by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, endowments 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 price targets for Canadian Natural Resources and Gulfport Energy, as provided by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Canadian Natural Resources	0	4	2	0	2.33
Gulfport Energy	0	0	0	0	0.00

Canadian Natural Resources presently has a consensus target price of $63.00, suggesting a potential upside of 111.28%. Given Canadian Natural Resources’ stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, equities analysts clearly believe Canadian Natural Resources is more favorable than Gulfport Energy.

Valuation and Earnings

This table compares Canadian Natural Resources and Gulfport Energy”s revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Canadian Natural Resources	$41.51 billion	1.51	$6.10 billion	$2.08	14.34
Gulfport Energy	$866.54 million	32.16	-$1.63 billion	($6.86)	-25.27

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

Risk & Volatility

Canadian Natural Resources has a beta of 1.48, indicating that its share price is 48% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Gulfport Energy has a beta of 5.5, indicating that its share price is 450% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Profitability

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

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Canadian Natural Resources	18.45%	20.07%	10.51%
Gulfport Energy	-144.45%	-93.72%	-3.48%

Summary

Canadian Natural Resources beats Gulfport Energy on 12 of the 14 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 Gulfport Energy

Gulfport Energy Corporation engages in the exploration, development, acquisition, and production of natural gas, crude oil, and natural gas liquids (NGL) in the United States. Its principal properties include Utica Shale covering an area of approximately 205,000 net reservoir acres primarily located in Eastern Ohio; and SCOOP covering an area of approximately 76,000 net reservoir acres primarily located in Oklahoma. As of December 31, 2020, it had 2.6 trillion cubic feet of natural gas equivalent of proved reserves; proved undeveloped reserves of 7 MMbbl of oil; and 923 Bcf of natural gas and 16 MMbbl of NGL. The company was incorporated in 1997 and is headquartered in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. On November 13, 2020, Gulfport Energy Corporation, along with its affiliates, filed a voluntary petition for reorganization under Chapter 11 in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of Texas.