Contrasting China Natural Gas (OTCMKTS:CHNGQ) & MPLX (NYSE:MPLX)

MPLX (NYSE:MPLX) and China Natural Gas (OTCMKTS:CHNGQ) are both energy companies, but which is the better business? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their profitability, dividends, institutional ownership, earnings, valuation, risk and analyst recommendations.

Profitability

This table compares MPLX and China Natural Gas’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
MPLX	35.44%	30.95%	11.28%
China Natural Gas	N/A	N/A	N/A

Earnings & Valuation

This table compares MPLX and China Natural Gas”s revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
MPLX	$11.93 billion	4.33	$4.32 billion	$4.21	12.04
China Natural Gas	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A

MPLX has higher revenue and earnings than China Natural Gas.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a breakdown of current ratings and target prices for MPLX and China Natural Gas, as provided by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
MPLX	1	1	7	0	2.67
China Natural Gas	0	0	0	0	0.00

MPLX currently has a consensus target price of $56.1111, indicating a potential upside of 10.71%. Given MPLX’s stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, equities research analysts plainly believe MPLX is more favorable than China Natural Gas.

Institutional & Insider Ownership

24.3% of MPLX shares are held by institutional investors. 20.8% of China Natural Gas shares are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, large money managers and hedge funds believe a company will outperform the market over the long term.

Summary

MPLX beats China Natural Gas on 8 of the 9 factors compared between the two stocks.

About MPLX

MPLX LP engages in the operation of midstream energy infrastructure and logistics assets, and distribution fuels services. It operates through the Crude Oil and Products Logistics and Natural Gas and NGL Services segments. The Crude Oil and Products Logistics segment transports, stores, distributes, and markets crude oil, asphalt, refined petroleum products, and water. The Natural Gas and NGL Services segment gathers, processes, and transports natural gas, and gathers, transports, fractionates, stores, and markets natural gas liquids (NGLs). The company was founded on March 27, 2012 and is headquartered in Findlay, OH.

About China Natural Gas

China Natural Gas, Inc., an integrated natural gas operator, engages in the sale and distribution of natural gas and gasoline to commercial, industrial, and residential customers in the People's Republic of China. The company is primarily involved in the distribution of compressed natural gas (CNG) through its variable interest entity-owned CNG fueling stations. As of December 31, 2012, it operated 31 CNG fueling stations, including 20 CNG fueling stations in Shaanxi Province, 10 CNG fueling stations in Henan Province, and 1 CNG fueling station in Hubei Province. It also installs natural gas pipelines, as well as distributes and sells piped natural gas to residential and commercial customers through a high pressure pipeline network of approximately 120 kilometers in the city of Xi'an in Shaanxi Province, including Lantian County; the districts of Lintong and Baqiao in Shaanxi Province; and the city of Lingbao in Henan Province. As of the above date, the company had approximately 122,020 residential and commercial customers for its pipeline network, as well as operated 4 automobile conversion sites for converting gasoline-fueled vehicles to hybrid (natural gas/gasoline) powered vehicles. The company is based in Xi'an, the People's Republic of China. On July 2, 2014, the involuntary petition of China Natural Gas, Inc. for reorganization under Chapter 11 was converted to Chapter 7. The involuntary petition was filed under Chapter 11 on February 8, 2013.