Comparing National Fuel Gas (NYSE:NFG) & Hess (NYSE:HES)

National Fuel Gas (NYSE:NFG) and Hess (NYSE:HES) are both energy companies, but which is the superior stock? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their earnings, analyst recommendations, valuation, risk, dividends, institutional ownership and profitability.

Earnings and Valuation

This table compares National Fuel Gas and Hess”s revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
National Fuel Gas	$2.18 billion	3.61	$77.51 million	$2.66	32.82
Hess	$13.02 billion	3.81	$2.77 billion	$7.23	22.17

Hess has higher revenue and earnings than National Fuel Gas. Hess is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than National Fuel Gas, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Analyst Ratings

This is a summary of recent ratings for National Fuel Gas and Hess, as provided by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
National Fuel Gas	0	1	2	1	3.00
Hess	0	5	5	0	2.50

National Fuel Gas presently has a consensus price target of $96.6667, suggesting a potential upside of 10.74%. Hess has a consensus price target of $162.7778, suggesting a potential upside of 1.54%. Given National Fuel Gas’ stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, analysts plainly believe National Fuel Gas is more favorable than Hess.

Volatility and Risk

National Fuel Gas has a beta of 0.65, indicating that its stock price is 35% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Hess has a beta of 0.62, indicating that its stock price is 38% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Institutional & Insider Ownership

74.0% of National Fuel Gas shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 88.5% of Hess shares are owned by institutional investors. 1.4% of National Fuel Gas shares are owned by insiders. Comparatively, 9.1% of Hess shares are owned by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, large money managers and hedge funds believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.

Dividends

National Fuel Gas pays an annual dividend of $2.14 per share and has a dividend yield of 2.5%. Hess pays an annual dividend of $2.00 per share and has a dividend yield of 1.2%. National Fuel Gas pays out 80.5% of its earnings in the form of a dividend, suggesting it may not have sufficient earnings to cover its dividend payment in the future. Hess pays out 27.7% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. National Fuel Gas has increased its dividend for 55 consecutive years and Hess has increased its dividend for 3 consecutive years. National Fuel Gas is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and longer track record of dividend growth.

Profitability

This table compares National Fuel Gas and Hess’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
National Fuel Gas	11.15%	20.81%	7.03%
Hess	17.65%	21.78%	9.72%

Summary

Hess beats National Fuel Gas on 11 of the 18 factors compared between the two stocks.

About National Fuel Gas

National Fuel Gas Company operates as a diversified energy company. It operates through four segments: Exploration and Production, Pipeline and Storage, Gathering, and Utility. The Exploration and Production segment explores for, develops, and produces natural gas and oil. The Pipeline and Storage segment provides interstate natural gas transportation services through an integrated gas pipeline system in Pennsylvania and New York; and owns and operates underground natural gas storage fields. This segment also transports natural gas for National Fuel Gas Distribution Corporation, as well as for other utilities, industrial companies, and power producers in New York State. The Gathering segment builds, owns, and operates natural gas processing and pipeline gathering facilities in the Appalachian region, as well as provides gathering services to Seneca. The Utility segment sells natural gas or provides natural gas utility services to various customers in Buffalo, Niagara Falls, and Jamestown, New York; and Erie and Sharon, Pennsylvania. National Fuel Gas Company was incorporated in 1902 and is headquartered in Williamsville, New York.

About Hess

Hess Corporation, an exploration and production company, explores, develops, produces, purchases, transports, and sells crude oil, natural gas liquids (NGLs), and natural gas. The company operates in two segments, Exploration and Production, and Midstream. It conducts production operations primarily in the United States, Guyana, the Malaysia/Thailand Joint Development Area, and Malaysia; and exploration activities principally offshore Guyana, the U.S. Gulf of Mexico, and offshore Suriname and Canada. The company is also involved in gathering, compressing, and processing natural gas; fractionating NGLs; gathering, terminaling, loading, and transporting crude oil and NGL through rail car; and storing and terminaling propane, as well as providing water handling services primarily in the Bakken Shale plays in the Williston Basin area of North Dakota. The company was incorporated in 1920 and is headquartered in New York, New York.