Reviewing Star Group (NYSE:SGU) & Core Natural Resources (NYSE:CNR)

Core Natural Resources (NYSE:CNR) and Star Group (NYSE:SGU) are both energy companies, but which is the superior stock? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their dividends, risk, profitability, institutional ownership, earnings, analyst recommendations and valuation.

Profitability

This table compares Core Natural Resources and Star Group’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Core Natural Resources	2.34%	0.03%	0.02%
Star Group	4.57%	24.43%	8.39%

Analyst Recommendations

This is a breakdown of current recommendations and price targets for Core Natural Resources and Star Group, as reported by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Core Natural Resources	0	2	3	1	2.83
Star Group	0	1	0	0	2.00

Core Natural Resources presently has a consensus price target of $115.00, suggesting a potential upside of 15.65%. Given Core Natural Resources’ stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, analysts clearly believe Core Natural Resources is more favorable than Star Group.

Risk and Volatility

Core Natural Resources has a beta of 0.17, suggesting that its stock price is 83% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Star Group has a beta of 0.34, suggesting that its stock price is 66% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Earnings & Valuation

This table compares Core Natural Resources and Star Group”s revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Core Natural Resources	$4.16 billion	1.19	-$153.22 million	$1.99	49.97
Star Group	$1.78 billion	0.23	$73.50 million	$1.87	6.80

Star Group has lower revenue, but higher earnings than Core Natural Resources. Star Group is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Core Natural Resources, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Dividends

Core Natural Resources pays an annual dividend of $0.40 per share and has a dividend yield of 0.4%. Star Group pays an annual dividend of $0.79 per share and has a dividend yield of 6.2%. Core Natural Resources pays out 20.1% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Star Group pays out 42.2% 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. Star Group has increased its dividend for 13 consecutive years. Star Group is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and longer track record of dividend growth.

Institutional & Insider Ownership

86.5% of Core Natural Resources shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 40.4% of Star Group shares are owned by institutional investors. 2.5% of Core Natural Resources shares are owned by insiders. Comparatively, 20.4% of Star Group shares are owned 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

Core Natural Resources beats Star Group on 10 of the 18 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Core Natural Resources

Core Natural Resources, Inc., together with its subsidiaries, produces and sells bituminous coal in the United States and internationally. It operates through two segments, Pennsylvania Mining Complex (PAMC) and CONSOL Marine Terminal. The company’s PAMC segment engages in the mining, preparing, and marketing of bituminous coal to power generators, industrial end-users, and metallurgical end-users. This segment includes the Bailey Mine, the Enlow Fork Mine, the Harvey Mine, and the central preparation plant. Its CONSOL Marine Terminal segment provides coal export terminal services through the Port of Baltimore. The company also develops and operates the Itmann Mining Complex located in Wyoming County, West Virginia; and Greenfield Reserves and Resources located in the Northern Appalachian, Central Appalachian, and Illinois basins. The company was formerly known as CONSOL Energy Inc. and changed its name to Core Natural Resources, Inc. in January 2025. Core Natural Resources, Inc. was founded in 1864 and is headquartered in Canonsburg, Pennsylvania.

About Star Group

Star Group, L.P., together with its subsidiaries, provides home heating oil and propane products and services to residential and commercial customers in the United States. It offers gasoline and diesel fuel; and installs, maintain, and repairs heating and air conditioning equipment. As of September 30, 2023, the company served approximately 402,200 full service residential and commercial home heating oil and propane customers and 52,400 customers on a delivery only basis. It also sells gasoline and diesel fuel to approximately 26,600 customers. The company was formerly known as Star Gas Partners, L.P. and changed its name to Star Group, L.P. in October 2017. Star Group, L.P. was incorporated in 1995 and is based in Stamford, Connecticut.