Canadian Natural Resources (CNQ) Competitors

Canadian Natural Resources (NYSE:CNQ) and Diamondback Energy (NASDAQ:FANG) are both large-cap energy companies, but which is the superior stock? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their analyst recommendations, profitability, risk, valuation, institutional ownership, dividends, media sentiment and earnings.

Is CNQ or FANG more profitable?

Diamondback Energy has a net margin of 27.25% compared to Canadian Natural Resources' net margin of 19.00%. Canadian Natural Resources' return on equity of 19.67% beat Diamondback Energy's return on equity.

Company	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Canadian Natural Resources	19.00%	19.67%	9.59%
Diamondback Energy	27.25%	9.48%	5.63%

Do analysts prefer CNQ or FANG?

Canadian Natural Resources presently has a consensus price target of $62.00, suggesting a potential upside of 108.59%. Diamondback Energy has a consensus price target of $191.45, suggesting a potential upside of 38.42%. Given Canadian Natural Resources' higher probable upside, analysts plainly believe Canadian Natural Resources is more favorable than Diamondback Energy.

Company	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Canadian Natural Resources	0 Sell rating(s)	2 Hold rating(s)	4 Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.67
Diamondback Energy	0 Sell rating(s)	1 Hold rating(s)	18 Buy rating(s)	2 Strong Buy rating(s)	3.05

Do institutionals & insiders have more ownership in CNQ or FANG?

74.0% of Canadian Natural Resources shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 90.0% of Diamondback Energy shares are owned by institutional investors. 5.0% of Canadian Natural Resources shares are owned by insiders. Comparatively, 0.7% of Diamondback Energy shares are owned by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, large money managers and hedge funds believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Is CNQ or FANG a better dividend stock?

Canadian Natural Resources pays an annual dividend of $1.69 per share and has a dividend yield of 5.7%. Diamondback Energy pays an annual dividend of $4.00 per share and has a dividend yield of 2.9%. Canadian Natural Resources pays out 59.9% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Diamondback Energy pays out 28.4% 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. Canadian Natural Resources has increased its dividend for 24 consecutive years and Diamondback Energy has increased its dividend for 7 consecutive years. Canadian Natural Resources is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and longer track record of dividend growth.

Which has more risk and volatility, CNQ or FANG?

Canadian Natural Resources has a beta of 1.05, indicating that its stock price is 5% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Diamondback Energy has a beta of 1.09, indicating that its stock price is 9% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Which has preferable valuation and earnings, CNQ or FANG?

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

Company	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Canadian Natural Resources	$43.85B	1.42	$4.46B	$2.82	10.54
Diamondback Energy	$11.07B	3.62	$3.34B	$14.07	9.83

Does the media favor CNQ or FANG?

In the previous week, Diamondback Energy had 11 more articles in the media than Canadian Natural Resources. MarketBeat recorded 40 mentions for Diamondback Energy and 29 mentions for Canadian Natural Resources. Canadian Natural Resources' average media sentiment score of 1.27 beat Diamondback Energy's score of 1.01 indicating that Canadian Natural Resources is being referred to more favorably in the media.

Company	Very Positive	Positive	Neutral	Negative	Very Negative	Overall Sentiment
Canadian Natural Resources	23 Very Positive mention(s)	3 Positive mention(s)	0 Neutral mention(s)	0 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Positive
Diamondback Energy	24 Very Positive mention(s)	6 Positive mention(s)	1 Neutral mention(s)	0 Negative mention(s)	1 Very Negative mention(s)	Positive

Summary

Canadian Natural Resources and Diamondback Energy tied by winning 10 of the 20 factors compared between the two stocks.