Contrasting Golar LNG (NASDAQ:GLNG) and Shell (NYSE:SHEL)

Golar LNG (NASDAQ:GLNG) and Shell (NYSE:SHEL) are both energy companies, but which is the superior stock? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their analyst recommendations, earnings, dividends, institutional ownership, risk, profitability and valuation.

Valuation and Earnings

This table compares Golar LNG and Shell”s revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Golar LNG	$260.37 million	16.07	$50.84 million	($0.07)	-571.71
Shell	$289.03 billion	0.72	$16.09 billion	$4.44	16.10

Shell has higher revenue and earnings than Golar LNG. Golar LNG is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Shell, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Risk and Volatility

Golar LNG has a beta of 0.42, indicating that its share price is 58% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Shell has a beta of 0.46, indicating that its share price is 54% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Analyst Ratings

This is a breakdown of recent ratings and price targets for Golar LNG and Shell, as reported by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Golar LNG	0	2	3	2	3.00
Shell	0	7	10	0	2.59

Golar LNG currently has a consensus target price of $49.17, indicating a potential upside of 22.86%. Shell has a consensus target price of $76.71, indicating a potential upside of 7.32%. Given Golar LNG’s stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, research analysts plainly believe Golar LNG is more favorable than Shell.

Dividends

Golar LNG pays an annual dividend of $1.00 per share and has a dividend yield of 2.5%. Shell pays an annual dividend of $2.86 per share and has a dividend yield of 4.0%. Golar LNG pays out -1,428.6% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Shell pays out 64.4% 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. Golar LNG has raised its dividend for 2 consecutive years.

Institutional and Insider Ownership

92.2% of Golar LNG shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 28.6% of Shell shares are held by institutional investors. 0.0% of Golar LNG shares are held by company insiders. Comparatively, 1.0% of Shell shares are held 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.

Profitability

This table compares Golar LNG and Shell’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Golar LNG	-2.83%	6.36%	3.44%
Shell	4.93%	10.67%	5.02%

Summary

Shell beats Golar LNG on 11 of the 18 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Golar LNG

Golar LNG Limited designs, converts, owns, and operates marine infrastructure for the liquefaction of natural gas. The company operates through three segments: FLNG, Corporate and Other, and Shipping. It engages in the regasification, storage, and offloading of liquefied natural gas (LNG); operation of floating liquefaction natural gas (FLNG) vessels or projects; transportation of LNG carriers; and vessel management activities. Golar LNG Limited was founded in 1946 and is headquartered in Hamilton, Bermuda.

About Shell

Shell plc operates as an energy and petrochemical company Europe, Asia, Oceania, Africa, the United States, and Rest of the Americas. The company operates through Integrated Gas, Upstream, Marketing, Chemicals and Products, and Renewables and Energy Solutions segments. It explores for and extracts crude oil, natural gas, and natural gas liquids; markets and transports oil and gas; produces gas-to-liquids fuels and other products; and operates upstream and midstream infrastructure to deliver gas to market. The company also markets and trades natural gas, liquefied natural gas (LNG), crude oil, electricity, carbon-emission rights; and markets and sells LNG as a fuel for heavy-duty vehicles. In addition, it trades in and refines crude oil and other feed stocks, such as low-carbon fuels, lubricants, bitumen, sulphur, gasoline, diesel, aviation fuel, and marine fuel; produces and sells petrochemicals for industrial use; and manages oil sands activities. Further, the company produces base chemicals comprising ethylene, propylene, and aromatics, as well as intermediate chemicals, such as styrene monomer, propylene oxide, solvents, detergent alcohols, ethylene oxide, and ethylene glycol. Additionally, it generates electricity through wind and solar resources; produces and sells hydrogen; and provides electric vehicle charging services. The company was formerly known as Royal Dutch Shell plc and changed its name to Shell plc in January 2022. Shell plc was founded in 1907 and is headquartered in London, the United Kingdom.