Tourmaline Oil (OTCMKTS:TRMLF) vs. Northern Oil and Gas (NYSE:NOG) Head-To-Head Review

Tourmaline Oil (OTCMKTS:TRMLF) and Northern Oil and Gas (NYSE:NOG) are both energy companies, but which is the better investment? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their dividends, earnings, risk, institutional ownership, profitability, analyst recommendations and valuation.

Analyst Ratings

This is a summary of current ratings and price targets for Tourmaline Oil and Northern Oil and Gas, as provided by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Tourmaline Oil	1	5	3	1	2.40
Northern Oil and Gas	2	5	3	0	2.10

Tourmaline Oil presently has a consensus target price of $65.00, suggesting a potential upside of 38.71%. Northern Oil and Gas has a consensus target price of $31.22, suggesting a potential upside of 14.84%. Given Tourmaline Oil’s stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, analysts plainly believe Tourmaline Oil is more favorable than Northern Oil and Gas.

Profitability

This table compares Tourmaline Oil and Northern Oil and Gas’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Tourmaline Oil	6.05%	9.05%	6.25%
Northern Oil and Gas	-25.35%	18.69%	6.85%

Insider and Institutional Ownership

1.8% of Tourmaline Oil shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 98.8% of Northern Oil and Gas shares are owned by institutional investors. 2.8% of Northern Oil and Gas shares are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, endowments and hedge funds believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Earnings & Valuation

This table compares Tourmaline Oil and Northern Oil and Gas”s revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Tourmaline Oil	$4.72 billion	3.86	$187.99 million	$0.72	65.08
Northern Oil and Gas	$2.48 billion	1.17	$38.76 million	($5.18)	-5.25

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

Risk & Volatility

Tourmaline Oil has a beta of -0.21, indicating that its share price is 121% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Northern Oil and Gas has a beta of 0.9, indicating that its share price is 10% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Dividends

Tourmaline Oil pays an annual dividend of $1.47 per share and has a dividend yield of 3.1%. Northern Oil and Gas pays an annual dividend of $1.80 per share and has a dividend yield of 6.6%. Tourmaline Oil pays out 204.2% of its earnings in the form of a dividend, suggesting it may not have sufficient earnings to cover its dividend payment in the future. Northern Oil and Gas pays out -34.7% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Northern Oil and Gas has raised its dividend for 4 consecutive years. Northern Oil and Gas is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and longer track record of dividend growth.

Summary

Tourmaline Oil beats Northern Oil and Gas on 9 of the 17 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Tourmaline Oil

Tourmaline Oil Corp. explores for and develops oil and natural gas properties in the Western Canadian Sedimentary Basin. The company holds interests in properties located in the Alberta Deep Basin, Northeast British Columbia Montney, and the Peace River High Triassic oil complex. Tourmaline Oil Corp. was incorporated in 2008 and is headquartered in Calgary, Canada.

About Northern Oil and Gas

Northern Oil and Gas, Inc., an independent energy company, engages in the acquisition, exploration, exploitation, development, and production of crude oil and natural gas properties in the United States. It primarily holds interests in the Williston Basin, the Appalachian Basin, and the Permian Basin in the United States. The company is based in Minnetonka, Minnesota.