Suncor Energy (SU) Competitors

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

Is CNQ or SU more profitable?

Canadian Natural Resources has a net margin of 16.92% compared to Suncor Energy's net margin of 11.95%. Canadian Natural Resources' return on equity of 20.90% beat Suncor Energy's return on equity.

Company	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Canadian Natural Resources	16.92%	20.90%	10.37%
Suncor Energy	11.95%	14.90%	7.40%

Do institutionals and insiders have more ownership in CNQ or SU?

74.0% of Canadian Natural Resources shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 67.4% of Suncor Energy shares are owned by institutional investors. 5.0% of Canadian Natural Resources shares are owned by company insiders. Comparatively, 1.0% of Suncor Energy shares are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, endowments and large money managers believe a company will outperform the market over the long term.

Is CNQ or SU a better dividend stock?

Canadian Natural Resources pays an annual dividend of $1.71 per share and has a dividend yield of 5.4%. Suncor Energy pays an annual dividend of $1.66 per share and has a dividend yield of 4.2%. Canadian Natural Resources pays out 67.1% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Suncor Energy pays out 47.8% 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 Suncor Energy has increased its dividend for 4 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 volatility and risk, CNQ or SU?

Canadian Natural Resources has a beta of 1.03, suggesting that its share price is 3% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Suncor Energy has a beta of 0.8, suggesting that its share price is 20% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Does the media favor CNQ or SU?

In the previous week, Suncor Energy had 1 more articles in the media than Canadian Natural Resources. MarketBeat recorded 11 mentions for Suncor Energy and 10 mentions for Canadian Natural Resources. Suncor Energy's average media sentiment score of 1.39 beat Canadian Natural Resources' score of 1.33 indicating that Suncor Energy is being referred to more favorably in the news media.

Company	Very Positive	Positive	Neutral	Negative	Very Negative	Overall Sentiment
Canadian Natural Resources	10 Very Positive mention(s)	0 Positive mention(s)	0 Neutral mention(s)	0 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Positive
Suncor Energy	9 Very Positive mention(s)	1 Positive mention(s)	0 Neutral mention(s)	0 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Positive

Do analysts rate CNQ or SU?

Canadian Natural Resources presently has a consensus price target of $63.00, indicating a potential upside of 98.24%. Suncor Energy has a consensus price target of $64.67, indicating a potential upside of 64.19%. Given Canadian Natural Resources' higher possible upside, equities research analysts clearly believe Canadian Natural Resources is more favorable than Suncor 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
Suncor Energy	0 Sell rating(s)	3 Hold rating(s)	6 Buy rating(s)	2 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.91

Which has better earnings and valuation, CNQ or SU?

Canadian Natural Resources has higher earnings, but lower revenue than Suncor Energy. Suncor 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	$30.30B	2.19	$4.46B	$2.55	12.46
Suncor Energy	$37.32B	1.29	$4.39B	$3.47	11.35

Summary

Canadian Natural Resources beats Suncor Energy on 12 of the 20 factors compared between the two stocks.