Comparing Montauk Renewables (NASDAQ:MNTK) and Frontline (NYSE:FRO)

Frontline (NYSE:FRO) and Montauk Renewables (NASDAQ:MNTK) are both energy companies, but which is the better stock? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their valuation, earnings, analyst recommendations, institutional ownership, dividends, risk and profitability.

Analyst Ratings

This is a summary of current ratings and price targets for Frontline and Montauk Renewables, as reported by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Frontline	2	5	4	0	2.18
Montauk Renewables	1	3	0	1	2.20

Frontline currently has a consensus target price of $45.37, suggesting a potential downside of 11.58%. Montauk Renewables has a consensus target price of $1.80, suggesting a potential downside of 15.09%. Given Frontline’s higher probable upside, analysts clearly believe Frontline is more favorable than Montauk Renewables.

Risk & Volatility

Frontline has a beta of 0.15, meaning that its stock price is 85% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Montauk Renewables has a beta of 0.66, meaning that its stock price is 34% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Valuation & Earnings

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

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Frontline	$1.97 billion	5.79	$379.08 million	$6.67	7.69
Montauk Renewables	$176.38 million	1.71	$1.75 million	$0.06	35.33

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

Profitability

This table compares Frontline and Montauk Renewables’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Frontline	49.47%	44.24%	20.89%
Montauk Renewables	3.40%	2.45%	1.47%

Institutional and Insider Ownership

22.7% of Frontline shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 16.4% of Montauk Renewables shares are owned by institutional investors. 48.1% of Frontline shares are owned by insiders. Comparatively, 54.3% of Montauk Renewables shares are owned by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, hedge funds and endowments believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Summary

Frontline beats Montauk Renewables on 10 of the 15 factors compared between the two stocks.

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.

About Montauk Renewables

Montauk Renewables, Inc., a renewable energy company, engages in recovery and processing of biogas from landfills and other non-fossil fuel sources. It operates in two segments, Renewable Natural Gas and Renewable Electricity Generation. The company develops, owns, and operates renewable natural gas (RNG) projects that captures methane and prevents it from being released into the atmosphere by converting it into either RNG or electrical power for the electrical grid. Its customers for RNG and renewable identification numbers (RIN) include large, long-term owner-operators of landfills and livestock farms, local utilities, and large refiners in the natural gas and refining sectors. Montauk Renewables, Inc. was founded in 1980 and is headquartered in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.