Contrasting Cheniere Energy Partners (NYSE:CQP) & Northwest Natural (NYSE:NWN)

Northwest Natural (NYSE:NWN) and Cheniere Energy Partners (NYSE:CQP) are both utilities companies, but which is the superior stock? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their dividends, analyst recommendations, earnings, profitability, valuation, risk and institutional ownership.

Institutional and Insider Ownership

75.1% of Northwest Natural shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 46.5% of Cheniere Energy Partners shares are owned by institutional investors. 0.8% of Northwest Natural shares are owned by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, large money managers and hedge funds believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Earnings & Valuation

This table compares Northwest Natural and Cheniere Energy Partners”s top-line revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Northwest Natural	$1.14 billion	1.40	$93.87 million	$2.12	18.72
Cheniere Energy Partners	$8.93 billion	3.01	$4.25 billion	$4.63	11.98

Cheniere Energy Partners has higher revenue and earnings than Northwest Natural. Cheniere Energy Partners is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Northwest Natural, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Dividends

Northwest Natural pays an annual dividend of $1.96 per share and has a dividend yield of 4.9%. Cheniere Energy Partners pays an annual dividend of $3.10 per share and has a dividend yield of 5.6%. Northwest Natural pays out 92.5% of its earnings in the form of a dividend, suggesting it may not have sufficient earnings to cover its dividend payment in the future. Cheniere Energy Partners pays out 67.0% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Northwest Natural has increased its dividend for 70 consecutive years. Cheniere Energy Partners is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and lower payout ratio.

Volatility & Risk

Northwest Natural has a beta of 0.62, indicating that its share price is 38% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Cheniere Energy Partners has a beta of 0.73, indicating that its share price is 27% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Analyst Ratings

This is a breakdown of current ratings and target prices for Northwest Natural and Cheniere Energy Partners, as provided by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Northwest Natural	0	0	2	0	3.00
Cheniere Energy Partners	2	0	0	0	1.00

Northwest Natural presently has a consensus price target of $43.50, suggesting a potential upside of 9.60%. Cheniere Energy Partners has a consensus price target of $50.50, suggesting a potential downside of 8.94%. Given Northwest Natural’s stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, equities analysts plainly believe Northwest Natural is more favorable than Cheniere Energy Partners.

Profitability

This table compares Northwest Natural and Cheniere Energy Partners’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Northwest Natural	6.90%	5.89%	1.61%
Cheniere Energy Partners	31.28%	-328.60%	13.93%

Summary

Cheniere Energy Partners beats Northwest Natural on 9 of the 17 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Northwest Natural

Northwest Natural Holding Company, through its subsidiary, Northwest Natural Gas Company, provides regulated natural gas distribution services to residential, commercial, and industrial customers in the United States. The company operates a mist gas storage facility contracted to other utilities, third-party marketers, and electric generators; offers natural gas asset management services; and operates an appliance retail center. It also engages in gas storage, water and wastewater, non-regulated renewable natural gas, and other investment businesses. In addition, the company provides natural gas service in Oregon and southwest Washington; and water and wastewater connections. Northwest Natural Holding Company was founded in 1859 and is headquartered in Portland, Oregon.

About Cheniere Energy Partners

Cheniere Energy Partners, L.P., through its subsidiaries, provides liquefied natural gas (LNG) to integrated energy companies, utilities, and energy trading companies worldwide. The company owns and operates natural gas liquefaction and export facility at the Sabine Pass LNG Terminal located in Cameron Parish, Louisiana. It also owns a natural gas supply pipeline that interconnects the Sabine Pass LNG terminal with various interstate pipelines. The company was founded in 2003 and is headquartered in Houston, Texas. Cheniere Energy Partners, L.P. is a subsidiary of Cheniere Energy, Inc.