Frontline (NYSE:FRO) & Inpex (OTCMKTS:IPXHY) Critical Comparison

Inpex (OTCMKTS:IPXHY) and Frontline (NYSE:FRO) are both large-cap energy companies, but which is the superior business? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their profitability, valuation, institutional ownership, dividends, analyst recommendations, risk and earnings.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a summary of current ratings and target prices for Inpex and Frontline, as provided by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Inpex	0	3	0	0	2.00
Frontline	2	5	4	0	2.18

Frontline has a consensus target price of $45.37, suggesting a potential downside of 5.00%. Given Frontline’s stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, analysts clearly believe Frontline is more favorable than Inpex.

Dividends

Inpex pays an annual dividend of $0.42 per share and has a dividend yield of 1.7%. Frontline pays an annual dividend of $10.44 per share and has a dividend yield of 21.9%. Inpex pays out 17.6% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Frontline pays out 156.5% of its earnings in the form of a dividend, suggesting it may not have sufficient earnings to cover its dividend payment in the future.

Risk & Volatility

Inpex has a beta of 0.14, suggesting that its stock price is 86% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Frontline has a beta of 0.05, suggesting that its stock price is 95% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Earnings and Valuation

This table compares Inpex and Frontline”s gross revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Inpex	$13.45 billion	2.16	$2.52 billion	$2.38	10.32
Frontline	$1.97 billion	5.39	$379.08 million	$6.67	7.16

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

Profitability

This table compares Inpex and Frontline’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Inpex	21.93%	8.53%	5.51%
Frontline	49.47%	44.24%	20.89%

Institutional and Insider Ownership

0.0% of Inpex shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 22.7% of Frontline shares are owned by institutional investors. 48.1% of Frontline shares are owned by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, hedge funds and endowments believe a stock will outperform the market over the long term.

Summary

Frontline beats Inpex on 11 of the 16 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Inpex

Inpex Corporation engages in the research, exploration, development, production, and sale of oil, natural gas, and other mineral resources in Japan, rest of Asia and Oceania, Europe and NIS countries, the Middle East and Africa, and the Americas. The company is involved in the investment and lending to the companies engaged in mineral resources business, etc. It also transports natural gas, as well as operates, manages, and maintains gas pipelines. In addition, the company engages in storage of carbon capture related business. Further, it is involved in hydrogen and ammonia, renewable energy, forest conservation, and carbon recycling related businesses. Inpex Corporation was founded in 1966 and is headquartered in Tokyo, Japan.

About Frontline

Frontline plc, a shipping company, engages in the seaborne transportation of crude oil and oil products worldwide. It owns and operates oil and product tankers. As of December 31, 2022, the company operated a fleet of 70 vessels. It is also involved in the charter, purchase, and sale of vessels. The company was founded in 1985 and is based in Limassol, Cyprus.