National Fuel Gas (NYSE:NFG) and Berry (NASDAQ:BRY) Financial Contrast

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

Institutional and Insider Ownership

74.0% of National Fuel Gas shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 94.9% of Berry shares are held by institutional investors. 1.4% of National Fuel Gas shares are held by insiders. Comparatively, 2.0% of Berry 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.

Valuation & Earnings

This table compares National Fuel Gas and Berry”s revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
National Fuel Gas	$1.94 billion	3.80	$77.51 million	$2.66	30.73
Berry	$776.50 million	0.34	$19.25 million	$0.07	48.43

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

Profitability

This table compares National Fuel Gas and Berry’s 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%
Berry	0.60%	5.27%	2.48%

Risk and Volatility

National Fuel Gas has a beta of 0.58, meaning that its share price is 42% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Berry has a beta of 1.2, meaning that its share price is 20% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Dividends

National Fuel Gas pays an annual dividend of $2.14 per share and has a dividend yield of 2.6%. Berry pays an annual dividend of $0.12 per share and has a dividend yield of 3.5%. 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. Berry pays out 171.4% of its earnings in the form of a dividend, suggesting it may not have sufficient earnings to cover its dividend payment in the future. National Fuel Gas has raised its dividend for 55 consecutive years.

Analyst Ratings

This is a summary of recent ratings and recommmendations for National Fuel Gas and Berry, as reported by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
National Fuel Gas	0	4	1	1	2.50
Berry	1	3	0	0	1.75

National Fuel Gas presently has a consensus target price of $98.00, suggesting a potential upside of 19.91%. Berry has a consensus target price of $4.00, suggesting a potential upside of 17.99%. Given National Fuel Gas’ stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, research analysts clearly believe National Fuel Gas is more favorable than Berry.

Summary

National Fuel Gas beats Berry on 13 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 Berry

Berry Petroleum Company, LLC., formerly Berry Petroleum Company, is an independent energy company. The Company is engaged in the production, development, exploitation, and acquisition of oil and natural gas. The Company’s principal reserves and producing properties are located in California (South Midway-Sunset (SMWSS)-Steam Floods, North Midway-Sunset (NMWSS)-Diatomite, NMWSS-New Steam Floods, Texas (Permian and E. Texas), Utah (Uinta) and Colorado (Piceance). The Company’s operations are conducted in the continental United States. In December 2013, Linn Energy LLC and Linn Co, LLC (Linn Co) announced the completion of the merger between LinnCo and Berry Petroleum Company (Berry), where LinnCo had acquired all of Berry’s interest.