Zion Oil & Gas (OTCMKTS:ZNOG) and Matador Resources (NYSE:MTDR) Head to Head Comparison

Zion Oil & Gas (OTCMKTS:ZNOG) and Matador Resources (NYSE:MTDR) are both energy companies, but which is the better investment? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their earnings, institutional ownership, valuation, profitability, risk, analyst recommendations and dividends.

Risk & Volatility

Zion Oil & Gas has a beta of 0.36, meaning that its share price is 64% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Matador Resources has a beta of 1.11, meaning that its share price is 11% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Earnings and Valuation

This table compares Zion Oil & Gas and Matador Resources”s revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Zion Oil & Gas	N/A	N/A	-$7.34 million	($1.77)	-0.12
Matador Resources	$3.83 billion	1.36	$885.32 million	$6.26	6.71

Matador Resources has higher revenue and earnings than Zion Oil & Gas. Zion Oil & Gas is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Matador Resources, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Profitability

This table compares Zion Oil & Gas and Matador Resources’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Zion Oil & Gas	N/A	-19.89%	-18.12%
Matador Resources	20.46%	14.80%	7.48%

Analyst Ratings

This is a breakdown of recent recommendations for Zion Oil & Gas and Matador Resources, as provided by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Zion Oil & Gas	0	0	0	0	0.00
Matador Resources	0	3	14	1	2.89

Matador Resources has a consensus price target of $62.50, indicating a potential upside of 48.79%. Given Matador Resources’ stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, analysts clearly believe Matador Resources is more favorable than Zion Oil & Gas.

Insider & Institutional Ownership

7.9% of Zion Oil & Gas shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 92.0% of Matador Resources shares are held by institutional investors. 3.0% of Zion Oil & Gas shares are held by company insiders. Comparatively, 5.8% of Matador Resources shares are held by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, hedge funds and endowments believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.

Summary

Matador Resources beats Zion Oil & Gas on 14 of the 14 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Zion Oil & Gas

Zion Oil & Gas, Inc., together with its subsidiaries, operates as an oil and gas exploration company in Israel. It holds a petroleum exploration license onshore Israel, the New Megiddo License 434 comprising an area of approximately 75,000 acres. The company was incorporated in 2000 and is headquartered in Dallas, Texas.

About Matador Resources

Matador Resources Company, an independent energy company, engages in the exploration, development, production, and acquisition of oil and natural gas resources in the United States. It operates through two segments, Exploration and Production; and Midstream. The company primarily holds interests in the Wolfcamp and Bone Spring plays in the Delaware Basin in Southeast New Mexico and West Texas. It also operates the Eagle Ford shale play in South Texas; and the Haynesville shale and Cotton Valley plays in Northwest Louisiana. In addition, the company conducts midstream operations in support of its exploration, development, and production operations. Further, it provides natural gas processing and oil transportation services; and oil, natural gas, and produced water gathering services, as well as produced water disposal services to third parties. The company sells natural gas to unaffiliated independent marketing companies and unaffiliated midstream companies. The company was formerly known as Matador Holdco, Inc. and changed its name to Matador Resources Company in August 2011. Matador Resources Company was founded in 2003 and is headquartered in Dallas, Texas.