Critical Contrast: Permex Petroleum (OTCMKTS:OILCF) vs. Canadian Natural Resources (NYSE:CNQ)

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

Profitability

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

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Permex Petroleum	N/A	N/A	N/A
Canadian Natural Resources	24.48%	17.84%	8.55%

Earnings & Valuation

This table compares Permex Petroleum and Canadian Natural Resources”s top-line revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Permex Petroleum	$120,000.00	14.99	-$3.99 million	($10.29)	-0.32
Canadian Natural Resources	$31.61 billion	2.83	$7.74 billion	$3.69	11.63

Canadian Natural Resources has higher revenue and earnings than Permex Petroleum. Permex Petroleum 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.

Risk & Volatility

Permex Petroleum has a beta of 2.62, suggesting that its stock price is 162% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Canadian Natural Resources has a beta of 0.53, suggesting that its stock price is 47% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Institutional and Insider Ownership

9.5% of Permex Petroleum shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 74.0% of Canadian Natural Resources shares are held by institutional investors. 5.0% of Canadian Natural Resources shares are held by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, endowments and hedge funds believe a stock will outperform the market over the long term.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a summary of recent ratings and recommmendations for Permex Petroleum and Canadian Natural Resources, as reported by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Permex Petroleum	0	0	0	0	0.00
Canadian Natural Resources	0	6	6	0	2.50

Canadian Natural Resources has a consensus price target of $57.00, indicating a potential upside of 32.77%. Given Canadian Natural Resources’ stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, analysts clearly believe Canadian Natural Resources is more favorable than Permex Petroleum.

Summary

Canadian Natural Resources beats Permex Petroleum on 11 of the 13 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Permex Petroleum

Permex Petroleum Corporation, a junior oil and gas company, engages in the acquisition, development, and production of oil and gas properties in the United States. The company holds interests in the Pittcock North property, Pittcock South property, Windy Jones property, and Mary Bullard property located in Stonewall County. It also holds interests in the West Henshaw property located in Eddy County, New Mexico; Oxy Yates property located in Eddy County; and Breedlove B Clearfork property located in Martin Country, Texas. In addition, the company has royalty interests in the Permian Basin of West Texas and southeast New Mexico. Permex Petroleum Corporation was incorporated in 2017 and is headquartered in Dallas, Texas.

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.