ONEOK (NYSE:OKE) and Expand Energy (NASDAQ:EXE) Financial Comparison

ONEOK (NYSE:OKE) and Expand Energy (NASDAQ:EXE) are both large-cap energy companies, but which is the superior investment? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their earnings, institutional ownership, risk, analyst recommendations, profitability, valuation and dividends.

Institutional & Insider Ownership

69.1% of ONEOK shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 97.9% of Expand Energy shares are owned by institutional investors. 0.2% of ONEOK shares are owned by insiders. Comparatively, 0.2% of Expand Energy shares are owned by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, hedge funds and large money managers believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.

Volatility & Risk

ONEOK has a beta of 0.82, suggesting that its stock price is 18% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Expand Energy has a beta of 0.41, suggesting that its stock price is 59% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Valuation and Earnings

This table compares ONEOK and Expand Energy”s top-line revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
ONEOK	$33.63 billion	1.68	$3.39 billion	$5.80	15.48
Expand Energy	$12.12 billion	1.68	$1.82 billion	$11.58	7.62

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

Dividends

ONEOK pays an annual dividend of $4.28 per share and has a dividend yield of 4.8%. Expand Energy pays an annual dividend of $2.30 per share and has a dividend yield of 2.6%. ONEOK pays out 73.8% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Expand Energy pays out 19.9% 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. ONEOK has raised its dividend for 3 consecutive years. ONEOK is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and longer track record of dividend growth.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a summary of recent recommendations and price targets for ONEOK and Expand Energy, as provided by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
ONEOK	0	12	7	1	2.45
Expand Energy	0	6	14	3	2.87

ONEOK currently has a consensus price target of $96.24, suggesting a potential upside of 7.16%. Expand Energy has a consensus price target of $123.94, suggesting a potential upside of 40.49%. Given Expand Energy’s stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, analysts plainly believe Expand Energy is more favorable than ONEOK.

Profitability

This table compares ONEOK and Expand Energy’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
ONEOK	9.29%	16.41%	5.48%
Expand Energy	20.46%	10.33%	6.89%

Summary

Expand Energy beats ONEOK on 11 of the 18 factors compared between the two stocks.

About ONEOK

ONEOK, Inc. engages in gathering, processing, fractionation, storage, transportation, and marketing of natural gas and natural gas liquids (NGL) in the United States. It operates through four segments: Natural Gas Gathering and Processing, Natural Gas Liquids, Natural Gas Pipelines, and Refined Products and Crude. The company owns natural gas gathering pipelines and processing plants in the Mid-Continent and Rocky Mountain regions; and provides midstream services to producers of NGLs. It also owns NGL gathering and distribution pipelines in Oklahoma, Kansas, Texas, New Mexico, Montana, North Dakota, Wyoming, and Colorado; terminal and storage facilities in Kansas, Nebraska, Iowa, and Illinois; NGL distribution pipelines in Kansas, Nebraska, Iowa, Illinois, and Indiana; transports refined petroleum products, including unleaded gasoline and diesel; and owns and operates truck- and rail-loading, and -unloading facilities connected to NGL fractionation, storage, and pipeline assets. In addition, the company transports and stores natural gas through regulated interstate and intrastate natural gas transmission pipelines, and natural gas storage facilities. Further, it owns and operates a parking garage in downtown Tulsa, Oklahoma; and leases excess office space and rail cars. Additionally, the company transports, stores, and distributes refined products, NGLs, and crude oil, as well as conducts commodity-related activities, including liquids blending and marketing activities. It serves integrated and independent exploration and production companies; other NGL and natural gas gathering and processing companies; crude oil and natural gas production companies; utilities; industrial companies; natural gasoline distributors; propane distributors; municipalities; ethanol producers; petrochemical, refining, and marketing companies; and heating fuel users, refineries, and exporters. ONEOK, Inc. was founded in 1906 and is headquartered in Tulsa, Oklahoma.

About Expand Energy

Expand Energy Corporation is an independent natural gas producer principally in the United States. Expand Energy Corporation, formerly known as Chesapeake Energy Corporation, is based in OKLAHOMA CITY.