Head to Head Comparison: Northern Oil and Gas (NYSE:NOG) versus Transportadora De Gas Sa Ord B (NYSE:TGS)

Transportadora De Gas Sa Ord B (NYSE:TGS) and Northern Oil and Gas (NYSE:NOG) are both mid-cap energy companies, but which is the better investment? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their dividends, profitability, valuation, risk, institutional ownership, earnings and analyst recommendations.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a breakdown of recent ratings for Transportadora De Gas Sa Ord B and Northern Oil and Gas, as provided by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Transportadora De Gas Sa Ord B	0	2	1	0	2.33
Northern Oil and Gas	2	4	3	0	2.11

Transportadora De Gas Sa Ord B currently has a consensus target price of $39.00, indicating a potential upside of 31.07%. Northern Oil and Gas has a consensus target price of $31.00, indicating a potential upside of 16.69%. Given Transportadora De Gas Sa Ord B’s stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, equities analysts plainly believe Transportadora De Gas Sa Ord B is more favorable than Northern Oil and Gas.

Insider and Institutional Ownership

3.3% of Transportadora De Gas Sa Ord B shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 98.8% of Northern Oil and Gas shares are owned by institutional investors. 2.8% of Northern Oil and Gas shares are owned by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, endowments and hedge funds believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.

Volatility and Risk

Transportadora De Gas Sa Ord B has a beta of 0.59, meaning that its stock price is 41% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Northern Oil and Gas has a beta of 0.73, meaning that its stock price is 27% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Profitability

This table compares Transportadora De Gas Sa Ord B and Northern Oil and Gas’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Transportadora De Gas Sa Ord B	27.38%	16.29%	10.07%
Northern Oil and Gas	-25.35%	18.69%	6.85%

Valuation & Earnings

This table compares Transportadora De Gas Sa Ord B and Northern Oil and Gas”s top-line revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Transportadora De Gas Sa Ord B	$1.41 billion	3.19	$336.69 million	$2.61	11.40
Northern Oil and Gas	$2.48 billion	1.14	$38.76 million	($5.18)	-5.13

Transportadora De Gas Sa Ord B has higher earnings, but lower revenue than Northern Oil and Gas. Northern Oil and Gas is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Transportadora De Gas Sa Ord B, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Summary

Transportadora De Gas Sa Ord B beats Northern Oil and Gas on 8 of the 14 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Transportadora De Gas Sa Ord B

Transportadora de Gas del Sur S.A. engages in transportation of natural gas, and production and commercialization of natural gas liquids in Argentina and internationally. The company operates through four segments: Natural Gas Transportation Services; Liquids Production and Commercialization; Midstream; and Telecommunications. The Natural Gas Transportation segment transports natural gas through pipeline system to distribution companies, power plants, and industrial customers. It provides operation and maintenance services for the natural gas transportation facilities. The Liquids Production and Commercialization segment produces and commercializes natural gas liquids, such as ethane, liquid petroleum gas, natural gasoline, propane, and butane. This segment offers certain related services comprising reception, storage, and dispatch of the liquids. The Midstream segment provides natural gas conditioning services; treatment, removal of impurities and natural gas compression, including the collection and transport of natural gas; and inspection and maintenance of pipelines and compressor plants services. In addition, this segment offers steam generation for electricity production and management services for expansion works and steam generation for the production of electricity. The Telecommunications segment offers data transmission services through a network of digital terrestrial radio relay. It serves residential, commercial, industrial, and electric power generation end users. The company was incorporated in 1992 and is headquartered in Buenos Aires, Argentina. Transportadora de Gas del Sur S.A. is a subsidiary of Compañía de Inversiones de Energía S.A.

About Northern Oil and Gas

Northern Oil and Gas, Inc., an independent energy company, engages in the acquisition, exploration, exploitation, development, and production of crude oil and natural gas properties in the United States. It primarily holds interests in the Williston Basin, the Appalachian Basin, and the Permian Basin in the United States. The company is based in Minnetonka, Minnesota.