Golar LNG (GLNG) Competitors

Frontline (NYSE:FRO) and Golar LNG (NASDAQ:GLNG) are both mid-cap oil & gas storage & transportation companies, but which is the superior business? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their earnings, valuation, profitability, analyst recommendations, dividends, media sentiment, institutional ownership and risk.

Which has stronger valuation and earnings, FRO or GLNG?

Frontline has higher revenue and earnings than Golar LNG. Golar LNG is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Frontline, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Company	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Frontline	$1.90B	2.40	$495.58M	$1.56	13.13
Golar LNG	$260.37M	17.77	$50.84M	-$0.07	-632.43

Which has more risk & volatility, FRO or GLNG?

Frontline has a beta of 0.22, suggesting that its stock price is 78% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Golar LNG has a beta of 0.56, suggesting that its stock price is 44% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Is FRO or GLNG a better dividend stock?

Frontline pays an annual dividend of $0.72 per share and has a dividend yield of 3.5%. Golar LNG pays an annual dividend of $1.00 per share and has a dividend yield of 2.3%. Frontline pays out 46.2% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Golar LNG pays out -1,428.6% 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. Golar LNG has increased its dividend for 2 consecutive years.

Do insiders and institutionals have more ownership in FRO or GLNG?

22.7% of Frontline shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 92.2% of Golar LNG shares are owned by institutional investors. 48.1% of Frontline shares are owned by company insiders. Comparatively, 0.0% of Golar LNG shares are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, endowments and large money managers believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.

Does the media prefer FRO or GLNG?

In the previous week, Golar LNG had 10 more articles in the media than Frontline. MarketBeat recorded 13 mentions for Golar LNG and 3 mentions for Frontline. Frontline's average media sentiment score of 1.22 beat Golar LNG's score of 0.48 indicating that Frontline is being referred to more favorably in the media.

Company	Very Positive	Positive	Neutral	Negative	Very Negative	Overall Sentiment
Frontline	2 Very Positive mention(s)	0 Positive mention(s)	1 Neutral mention(s)	0 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Positive
Golar LNG	5 Very Positive mention(s)	2 Positive mention(s)	1 Neutral mention(s)	1 Negative mention(s)	1 Very Negative mention(s)	Neutral

Do analysts prefer FRO or GLNG?

Frontline currently has a consensus target price of $20.62, suggesting a potential upside of 0.70%. Golar LNG has a consensus target price of $49.17, suggesting a potential upside of 11.06%. Given Golar LNG's stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, analysts clearly believe Golar LNG is more favorable than Frontline.

Company	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Frontline	1 Sell rating(s)	0 Hold rating(s)	3 Buy rating(s)	1 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.80
Golar LNG	1 Sell rating(s)	1 Hold rating(s)	3 Buy rating(s)	2 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.86

Is FRO or GLNG more profitable?

Frontline has a net margin of 17.67% compared to Golar LNG's net margin of -2.83%. Frontline's return on equity of 12.67% beat Golar LNG's return on equity.

Company	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Frontline	17.67%	12.67%	4.77%
Golar LNG	-2.83%	6.36%	3.44%

Summary

Frontline beats Golar LNG on 10 of the 19 factors compared between the two stocks.