Financial Contrast: DHT (NYSE:DHT) & ENI (NYSE:E)

ENI (NYSE:E) and DHT (NYSE:DHT) are both energy companies, but which is the superior business? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their earnings, dividends, profitability, institutional ownership, risk, analyst recommendations and valuation.

Volatility and Risk

ENI has a beta of 0.41, indicating that its stock price is 59% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, DHT has a beta of -0.03, indicating that its stock price is 103% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Dividends

ENI pays an annual dividend of $1.68 per share and has a dividend yield of 3.0%. DHT pays an annual dividend of $4.88 per share and has a dividend yield of 21.9%. ENI pays out 28.9% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. DHT pays out 112.4% of its earnings in the form of a dividend, suggesting it may not have sufficient earnings to cover its dividend payment in the future.

Earnings and Valuation

This table compares ENI and DHT”s top-line revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
ENI	$94.60 billion	1.01	$2.95 billion	$5.81	9.77
DHT	$498.40 million	7.21	$211.09 million	$4.34	5.14

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

Insider & Institutional Ownership

1.2% of ENI shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 58.5% of DHT shares are owned by institutional investors. 0.0% of ENI shares are owned by insiders. Comparatively, 1.6% of DHT shares are owned by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, large money managers and hedge funds believe a stock will outperform the market over the long term.

Profitability

This table compares ENI and DHT’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
ENI	8.78%	13.84%	5.24%
DHT	73.81%	51.87%	37.00%

Analyst Recommendations

This is a summary of recent ratings and target prices for ENI and DHT, as reported by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
ENI	0	8	9	1	2.61
DHT	0	2	1	1	2.75

ENI presently has a consensus target price of $58.45, suggesting a potential upside of 3.02%. DHT has a consensus target price of $27.00, suggesting a potential upside of 21.05%. Given DHT’s stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, analysts plainly believe DHT is more favorable than ENI.

Summary

DHT beats ENI on 9 of the 16 factors compared between the two stocks.

About ENI

Eni S.p.A. is an Italian integrated energy company headquartered in Rome. Established in 1953 as Ente Nazionale Idrocarburi, it has developed from a state energy enterprise into an international business spanning multiple parts of the energy value chain. The company explores for and produces oil and natural gas, and is active in natural gas supply, liquefied natural gas, refining and the marketing of energy products. Its businesses also include chemicals and power generation. Eni operates in Italy and in countries across Europe, Africa, the Middle East, the Americas and Asia.

About DHT

DHT Holdings, Inc. is an independent crude oil tanker company that owns and operates vessels used to transport crude oil by sea. Its fleet consists primarily of very large crude carriers (VLCCs), which move large volumes of oil between production regions, refineries and other destinations. DHT’s vessels serve the global crude oil trade, operating on routes around the world. The company employs a mix of voyage and time charters, providing transportation services to oil companies, traders and other customers.