Head-To-Head Analysis: Devon Energy (NYSE:DVN) and Cameco (NYSE:CCJ)

Cameco (NYSE:CCJ) and Devon Energy (NYSE:DVN) are both large-cap energy companies, but which is the better investment? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their analyst recommendations, valuation, profitability, risk, dividends, earnings and institutional ownership.

Analyst Ratings

This is a summary of current ratings and price targets for Cameco and Devon Energy, as provided by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Cameco	1	4	12	0	2.65
Devon Energy	0	4	24	2	2.93

Cameco presently has a consensus target price of $148.68, indicating a potential upside of 68.74%. Devon Energy has a consensus target price of $60.19, indicating a potential upside of 24.76%. Given Cameco’s higher possible upside, analysts plainly believe Cameco is more favorable than Devon Energy.

Earnings & Valuation

This table compares Cameco and Devon Energy”s top-line revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Cameco	$2.49 billion	15.40	$421.96 million	$0.59	149.34
Devon Energy	$17.19 billion	3.09	$2.64 billion	$4.21	11.46

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

Institutional & Insider Ownership

70.2% of Cameco shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 69.7% of Devon Energy shares are held by institutional investors. 1.0% of Cameco shares are held by company insiders. Comparatively, 4.6% of Devon Energy shares are held by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, large money managers and hedge funds believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Risk & Volatility

Cameco has a beta of 1.17, meaning that its share price is 17% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Devon Energy has a beta of 0.49, meaning that its share price is 51% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Dividends

Cameco pays an annual dividend of $0.17 per share and has a dividend yield of 0.2%. Devon Energy pays an annual dividend of $1.28 per share and has a dividend yield of 2.7%. Cameco pays out 28.8% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Devon Energy pays out 30.4% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Both companies have healthy payout ratios and should be able to cover their dividend payments with earnings for the next several years. Cameco has increased its dividend for 1 consecutive years and Devon Energy has increased its dividend for 1 consecutive years.

Profitability

This table compares Cameco and Devon Energy’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Cameco	10.20%	7.59%	5.23%
Devon Energy	16.67%	14.93%	7.91%

Summary

Devon Energy beats Cameco on 11 of the 17 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Cameco

Cameco Corporation provides uranium for the generation of electricity. It operates through Uranium, Fuel Services, Westinghouse segments. The Uranium segment is involved in the exploration for, mining, and milling, purchase, and sale of uranium concentrate. The Fuel Services segment engages in the refining, conversion, and fabrication of uranium concentrate, as well as the purchase and sale of conversion services. This segment also produces CANDU reactor fuel bundles and other reactor components. The company offers nuclear fuel processing services. The Westinghouse segment engages in the manufacture of nuclear reactor technology original equipment. This segment provides products and services to commercial utilities and government agencies; and outage and maintenance services, engineering support, instrumentation and controls equipment, plant modification, and components and parts to nuclear reactors. It sells its uranium and fuel services to nuclear utilities in the Americas, Europe, and Asia. Cameco Corporation was incorporated in 1987 and is headquartered in Saskatoon, Canada.

About Devon Energy

Devon Energy Corporation, an independent energy company, engages in the exploration, development, and production of oil, natural gas, and natural gas liquids in the United States. It operates in Delaware, Eagle Ford, Anadarko, Williston, and Powder River Basins. The company was founded in 1971 and is headquartered in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma.