Comparing Northern Oil and Gas (NYSE:NOG) and Sanchez Energy (OTCMKTS:SNEC)

Northern Oil and Gas (NYSE:NOG) and Sanchez Energy (OTCMKTS:SNEC) are both oils/energy companies, but which is the better investment? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their profitability, earnings, risk, analyst recommendations, institutional ownership, dividends and valuation.

Institutional and Insider Ownership

98.8% of Northern Oil and Gas shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 0.6% of Sanchez Energy shares are owned by institutional investors. 2.8% of Northern Oil and Gas shares are owned by insiders. Comparatively, 11.1% of Sanchez Energy shares are owned by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, large money managers and hedge funds believe a company will outperform the market over the long term.

Risk & Volatility

Northern Oil and Gas has a beta of 1.85, meaning that its stock price is 85% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Sanchez Energy has a beta of 1.71, meaning that its stock price is 71% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a summary of recent ratings and recommmendations for Northern Oil and Gas and Sanchez Energy, as reported by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Northern Oil and Gas	0	3	7	1	2.82
Sanchez Energy	0	0	0	0	0.00

Northern Oil and Gas presently has a consensus target price of $47.50, suggesting a potential upside of 18.07%. Given Northern Oil and Gas’ stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, research analysts clearly believe Northern Oil and Gas is more favorable than Sanchez Energy.

Profitability

This table compares Northern Oil and Gas and Sanchez Energy’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Northern Oil and Gas	33.44%	27.52%	12.28%
Sanchez Energy	2.22%	-18.15%	3.09%

Earnings & Valuation

This table compares Northern Oil and Gas and Sanchez Energy”s gross revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Northern Oil and Gas	$2.17 billion	1.85	$922.97 million	$8.33	4.83
Sanchez Energy	$1.06 billion	0.01	$85.21 million	N/A	N/A

Northern Oil and Gas has higher revenue and earnings than Sanchez Energy.

Summary

Northern Oil and Gas beats Sanchez Energy on 12 of the 13 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 Sanchez Energy

Sanchez Energy Corporation, an independent exploration and production company, focuses on the acquisition and development of onshore unconventional oil and natural gas resources in the United States. It engages in the horizontal development of resources from the Eagle Ford Shale in South Texas. It also holds an undeveloped acreage position in the Tuscaloosa Marine Shale (TMS) in Mississippi and Louisiana. As of December 31, 2018, the company had assembled approximately 271,000 net acres in the Eagle Ford Shale; and owned approximately 34,000 net acres in the TMS. Sanchez Energy Corporation was founded in 2011 and is headquartered in Houston, Texas.