Contrasting NextDecade (NASDAQ:NEXT) & China Natural Gas (OTCMKTS:CHNGQ)

NextDecade (NASDAQ:NEXT) and China Natural Gas (OTCMKTS:CHNGQ) are both oils/energy companies, but which is the better stock? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their dividends, institutional ownership, earnings, analyst recommendations, risk, profitability and valuation.

Profitability

This table compares NextDecade and China Natural Gas’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
NextDecade	N/A	-22.67%	-5.47%
China Natural Gas	N/A	N/A	N/A

Institutional and Insider Ownership

66.7% of NextDecade shares are owned by institutional investors. 1.2% of NextDecade shares are owned by company insiders. Comparatively, 20.8% of China Natural Gas shares are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, large money managers and endowments believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Risk & Volatility

NextDecade has a beta of 1.25, indicating that its stock price is 25% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, China Natural Gas has a beta of -9.51, indicating that its stock price is 1,051% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Earnings and Valuation

This table compares NextDecade and China Natural Gas”s revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
NextDecade	N/A	N/A	-$162.26 million	($1.12)	-6.42
China Natural Gas	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A

Analyst Ratings

This is a breakdown of current ratings and target prices for NextDecade and China Natural Gas, as reported by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
NextDecade	0	0	1	0	3.00
China Natural Gas	0	0	0	0	0.00

NextDecade presently has a consensus price target of $9.00, suggesting a potential upside of 25.17%. Given NextDecade’s stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, equities research analysts clearly believe NextDecade is more favorable than China Natural Gas.

Summary

NextDecade beats China Natural Gas on 5 of the 8 factors compared between the two stocks.

About NextDecade

NextDecade Corp. is a development company.

About China Natural Gas

China Natural Gas, Inc., an integrated natural gas operator, engages in the sale and distribution of natural gas and gasoline to commercial, industrial, and residential customers in the People's Republic of China. The company is primarily involved in the distribution of compressed natural gas (CNG) through its variable interest entity-owned CNG fueling stations. As of December 31, 2012, it operated 31 CNG fueling stations, including 20 CNG fueling stations in Shaanxi Province, 10 CNG fueling stations in Henan Province, and 1 CNG fueling station in Hubei Province. It also installs natural gas pipelines, as well as distributes and sells piped natural gas to residential and commercial customers through a high pressure pipeline network of approximately 120 kilometers in the city of Xi'an in Shaanxi Province, including Lantian County; the districts of Lintong and Baqiao in Shaanxi Province; and the city of Lingbao in Henan Province. As of the above date, the company had approximately 122,020 residential and commercial customers for its pipeline network, as well as operated 4 automobile conversion sites for converting gasoline-fueled vehicles to hybrid (natural gas/gasoline) powered vehicles. The company is based in Xi'an, the People's Republic of China. On July 2, 2014, the involuntary petition of China Natural Gas, Inc. for reorganization under Chapter 11 was converted to Chapter 7. The involuntary petition was filed under Chapter 11 on February 8, 2013.