CONSOL Energy (NYSE: CNX) and Foresight Energy (NYSE:FELP) are both oils/energy companies, but which is the superior stock? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their dividends, analyst recommendations, profitability, risk, earnings, valuation and institutional ownership.
Analyst Recommendations
This is a breakdown of recent ratings and recommmendations for CONSOL Energy and Foresight Energy, as reported by MarketBeat.
| Sell Ratings | Hold Ratings | Buy Ratings | Strong Buy Ratings | Rating Score | |
| CONSOL Energy | 0 | 4 | 4 | 0 | 2.50 |
| Foresight Energy | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2.00 |
CONSOL Energy presently has a consensus price target of $22.14, indicating a potential upside of 55.39%. Foresight Energy has a consensus price target of $5.25, indicating a potential upside of 23.24%. Given CONSOL Energy’s stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, research analysts plainly believe CONSOL Energy is more favorable than Foresight Energy.
Volatility & Risk
CONSOL Energy has a beta of 1.35, suggesting that its stock price is 35% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Foresight Energy has a beta of 0.8, suggesting that its stock price is 20% less volatile than the S&P 500.
Earnings and Valuation
This table compares CONSOL Energy and Foresight Energy’s revenue, earnings per share and valuation.
| Gross Revenue | Price/Sales Ratio | EBITDA | Earnings Per Share | Price/Earnings Ratio | |
| CONSOL Energy | $2.37 billion | 1.38 | $678.95 million | ($0.66) | -21.59 |
| Foresight Energy | $921.23 million | 0.65 | $186.23 million | ($1.81) | -2.35 |
CONSOL Energy has higher revenue and earnings than Foresight Energy. CONSOL Energy is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Foresight Energy, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.
Insider and Institutional Ownership
11.5% of Foresight Energy shares are owned by institutional investors. 1.5% of CONSOL Energy shares are owned 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.
Profitability
This table compares CONSOL Energy and Foresight Energy’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.
| Net Margins | Return on Equity | Return on Assets | |
| CONSOL Energy | -5.42% | 1.09% | 0.48% |
| Foresight Energy | -21.13% | -15.37% | -2.78% |
Summary
CONSOL Energy beats Foresight Energy on 12 of the 13 factors compared between the two stocks.
About CONSOL Energy
CONSOL Energy Inc. (CONSOL Energy) is an integrated energy company. The Company’s divisions include Exploration and Production (E&P), Pennsylvania (PA) Mining Operations and Other. The E&P division operates through four segments: Marcellus Shale, Utica Shale, Coalbed Methane (CBM) and Other Gas, which produce pipeline quality natural gas for sale primarily to gas wholesalers. Its E&P division focuses on Appalachian area natural gas and liquids activities, including production, gathering, processing and acquisition of natural gas properties in the Appalachian Basin. The Other Gas segment is primarily related to shallow oil and gas production and the Chattanooga Shale in Tennessee. The principal activities of the PA Mining Operations division are mining, preparation and marketing of thermal coal, sold primarily to power generators. The Other division includes business activities, such as coal terminal operations and water operations.
About Foresight Energy
Foresight Energy LP is engaged in the mining and marketing of coal from reserves and operations located in the Illinois Basin. As of December 31, 2016, the Company controlled 2.1 billion tons of coal in the state of Illinois. Its reserves consist principally of three contiguous blocks of uniform, thick, high heat content (high Btu) thermal coal, which are used for longwall operations. The Company operates four underground mining complexes in the Illinois Basin, including Williamson, Sugar Camp, Hillsboro and Macoupin. Its mining complexes operate in the Illinois Basin with approximately two located in Southern Illinois and over two located in Central Illinois. Williamson, Sugar Camp and Hillsboro are longwall operations, and Macoupin is a continuous miner operation. The Company markets and sells its coal to electric utility and industrial companies in the eastern half of the United States as well as internationally (primarily into Europe).
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