Comparing Golar LNG (NASDAQ:GLNG) & Montauk Renewables (NASDAQ:MNTK)

Montauk Renewables (NASDAQ:MNTK) and Golar LNG (NASDAQ:GLNG) are both energy companies, but which is the better business? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their analyst recommendations, risk, dividends, profitability, earnings, valuation and institutional ownership.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a summary of recent ratings for Montauk Renewables and Golar LNG, as reported by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Montauk Renewables	1	3	0	1	2.20
Golar LNG	0	2	4	1	2.86

Montauk Renewables currently has a consensus target price of $1.80, suggesting a potential downside of 37.28%. Golar LNG has a consensus target price of $64.25, suggesting a potential upside of 30.56%. Given Golar LNG’s stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, analysts plainly believe Golar LNG is more favorable than Montauk Renewables.

Earnings & Valuation

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

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Montauk Renewables	$176.38 million	2.32	$1.75 million	$0.06	47.83
Golar LNG	$393.52 million	12.67	$65.68 million	$1.60	30.76

Golar LNG has higher revenue and earnings than Montauk Renewables. Golar LNG 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 Montauk Renewables and Golar LNG’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Montauk Renewables	3.40%	2.45%	1.47%
Golar LNG	31.27%	8.91%	3.75%

Risk & Volatility

Montauk Renewables has a beta of 0.66, meaning that its share price is 34% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Golar LNG has a beta of 0.13, meaning that its share price is 87% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Insider & Institutional Ownership

16.4% of Montauk Renewables shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 92.2% of Golar LNG shares are held by institutional investors. 54.3% of Montauk Renewables shares are held by company insiders. Comparatively, 0.0% of Golar LNG shares are held by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, large money managers and endowments believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.

Summary

Golar LNG beats Montauk Renewables on 11 of the 14 factors compared between the two stocks.

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.

About Golar LNG

Golar LNG Limited designs, converts, owns, and operates marine infrastructure for the liquefaction of natural gas. The company operates through three segments: FLNG, Corporate and Other, and Shipping. It engages in the regasification, storage, and offloading of liquefied natural gas (LNG); operation of floating liquefaction natural gas (FLNG) vessels or projects; transportation of LNG carriers; and vessel management activities. Golar LNG Limited was founded in 1946 and is headquartered in Hamilton, Bermuda.