Head-To-Head Comparison: Enerflex (NYSE:EFXT) vs. Canadian Natural Resources (NYSE:CNQ)

Enerflex (NYSE:EFXT) and Canadian Natural Resources (NYSE:CNQ) are both energy companies, but which is the superior investment? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their valuation, institutional ownership, dividends, analyst recommendations, profitability, risk and earnings.

Dividends

Enerflex pays an annual dividend of $0.11 per share and has a dividend yield of 1.1%. Canadian Natural Resources pays an annual dividend of $1.71 per share and has a dividend yield of 5.7%. Enerflex pays out 10.6% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Canadian Natural Resources pays out 60.6% 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. Enerflex has raised its dividend for 1 consecutive years and Canadian Natural Resources has raised its dividend for 24 consecutive years. Canadian Natural Resources is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and longer track record of dividend growth.

Insider and Institutional Ownership

46.5% of Enerflex shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 74.0% of Canadian Natural Resources shares are owned by institutional investors. 5.0% of Canadian Natural Resources shares are owned by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, hedge funds and endowments believe a company will outperform the market over the long term.

Valuation and Earnings

This table compares Enerflex and Canadian Natural Resources”s top-line revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Enerflex	$2.41 billion	0.49	$32.00 million	$1.04	9.32
Canadian Natural Resources	$30.30 billion	2.08	$4.46 billion	$2.82	10.69

Canadian Natural Resources has higher revenue and earnings than Enerflex. Enerflex 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.

Profitability

This table compares Enerflex and Canadian Natural Resources’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Enerflex	5.54%	10.21%	3.87%
Canadian Natural Resources	19.00%	19.67%	9.59%

Risk & Volatility

Enerflex has a beta of 2, indicating that its share price is 100% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Canadian Natural Resources has a beta of 1.05, indicating that its share price is 5% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Analyst Ratings

This is a summary of recent ratings and target prices for Enerflex and Canadian Natural Resources, as reported by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Enerflex	0	1	3	0	2.75
Canadian Natural Resources	0	2	4	0	2.67

Enerflex presently has a consensus target price of $11.1250, suggesting a potential upside of 14.75%. Canadian Natural Resources has a consensus target price of $62.00, suggesting a potential upside of 105.74%. Given Canadian Natural Resources’ higher possible upside, analysts clearly believe Canadian Natural Resources is more favorable than Enerflex.

Summary

Canadian Natural Resources beats Enerflex on 14 of the 17 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Enerflex

Enerflex Ltd. offers energy infrastructure and energy transition solutions to natural gas markets in North America, Latin America, and the Eastern Hemisphere. The company provides natural gas compression infrastructure, processing, and treated water infrastructure under contract to oil and natural gas customers; power generation rental solutions; custom and standard compression packages for reciprocating and screw compressor applications; re-engineering, re-configuration, and re-packaging of compressors for various field applications; integrated turnkey power generation, gas compression, processing facilities, natural gas compression, processing, and electric power solutions; after-market mechanical services and parts distribution, as well as maintenance solutions to the oil and natural gas industry, operations, and overhaul services; and equipment supply, parts supply, and general asset management. It also designs, engineers, manufactures, constructs, and installs modular natural gas processing equipment, low-carbon solutions, cryogenic systems, electric power solutions, and treated water solutions; and engages in the engineering, design, procurement, project management, and construction services for compression, process, treated water, and power generation equipment, as well as after-market service, parts, and operations and maintenance services for gas compression, processing, and treated water facilities in the region. The company was formerly known as Enerflex Systems Income Fund and changed its name to Enerflex Ltd. in January 2010. Enerflex Ltd. was founded in 1980 and is headquartered in Calgary, Canada.

About Canadian Natural Resources

Canadian Natural Resources Limited acquires, explores for, develops, produces, markets, and sells crude oil, natural gas, and natural gas liquids (NGLs). The company offers light and medium crude oil, primary heavy crude oil, Pelican Lake heavy crude oil, bitumen (thermal oil), and synthetic crude oil (SCO). The company’s midstream assets include two pipeline systems; and a 50% working interest in an 84-megawatt cogeneration plant at Primrose. It operates primarily in Western Canada; the United Kingdom portion of the North Sea; and Offshore Africa. The company was formerly known as AEX Minerals Corporation and changed its name to Canadian Natural Resources Limited in December 1975. Canadian Natural Resources Limited was incorporated in 1973 and is headquartered in Calgary, Canada.