Northern Oil and Gas (NOG) Competitors

Northern Oil and Gas (NYSE:NOG) and APA (NASDAQ:APA) are both mid-cap energy companies, but which is the superior investment? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their earnings, risk, media sentiment, institutional ownership, profitability, analyst recommendations, valuation and dividends.

Which has preferable valuation and earnings, NOG or APA?

APA has higher revenue and earnings than Northern Oil and Gas. Northern Oil and Gas is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than APA, 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
Northern Oil and Gas	$2.23B	1.07	$520.31M	$6.06	4.03
APA	$9.74B	0.75	$804M	$2.99	6.85

Is NOG or APA more profitable?

Northern Oil and Gas has a net margin of 23.62% compared to APA's net margin of 10.53%. Northern Oil and Gas' return on equity of 22.12% beat APA's return on equity.

Company	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Northern Oil and Gas	23.62%	22.12%	9.49%
APA	10.53%	20.98%	7.21%

Which has more risk & volatility, NOG or APA?

Northern Oil and Gas has a beta of 1.55, suggesting that its share price is 55% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, APA has a beta of 1.23, suggesting that its share price is 23% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Is NOG or APA a better dividend stock?

Northern Oil and Gas pays an annual dividend of $1.80 per share and has a dividend yield of 7.4%. APA pays an annual dividend of $1.00 per share and has a dividend yield of 4.9%. Northern Oil and Gas pays out 29.7% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. APA pays out 33.4% 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. Northern Oil and Gas has increased its dividend for 4 consecutive years. Northern Oil and Gas is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and longer track record of dividend growth.

Does the media prefer NOG or APA?

In the previous week, APA had 42 more articles in the media than Northern Oil and Gas. MarketBeat recorded 48 mentions for APA and 6 mentions for Northern Oil and Gas. Northern Oil and Gas' average media sentiment score of 1.32 beat APA's score of 0.85 indicating that Northern Oil and Gas is being referred to more favorably in the media.

Company	Very Positive	Positive	Neutral	Negative	Very Negative	Overall Sentiment
Northern Oil and Gas	4 Very Positive mention(s)	1 Positive mention(s)	1 Neutral mention(s)	0 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Positive
APA	18 Very Positive mention(s)	1 Positive mention(s)	15 Neutral mention(s)	4 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Positive

Do analysts recommend NOG or APA?

Northern Oil and Gas currently has a consensus price target of $38.11, indicating a potential upside of 56.07%. APA has a consensus price target of $23.61, indicating a potential upside of 15.29%. Given Northern Oil and Gas' stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, equities research analysts clearly believe Northern Oil and Gas is more favorable than APA.

Company	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Northern Oil and Gas	0 Sell rating(s)	5 Hold rating(s)	4 Buy rating(s)	1 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.60
APA	3 Sell rating(s)	14 Hold rating(s)	3 Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.00

Do insiders & institutionals believe in NOG or APA?

98.8% of Northern Oil and Gas shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 83.0% of APA shares are owned by institutional investors. 2.9% of Northern Oil and Gas shares are owned by insiders. Comparatively, 0.7% of APA shares are owned by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, endowments and hedge funds believe a company will outperform the market over the long term.

Summary

Northern Oil and Gas beats APA on 16 of the 20 factors compared between the two stocks.