Cheniere Energy Partners (NYSE:CQP) vs. Cheniere Energy (NYSE:LNG) Financial Survey

Cheniere Energy Partners (NYSE:CQP) and Cheniere Energy (NYSE:LNG) are both large-cap oils/energy companies, but which is the superior investment? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their profitability, earnings, valuation, analyst recommendations, dividends, risk and institutional ownership.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a breakdown of current ratings and target prices for Cheniere Energy Partners and Cheniere Energy, as reported by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Cheniere Energy Partners	2	0	0	0	1.00
Cheniere Energy	0	1	10	0	2.91

Cheniere Energy Partners presently has a consensus target price of $50.50, indicating a potential downside of 3.29%. Cheniere Energy has a consensus target price of $225.00, indicating a potential upside of 7.71%. Given Cheniere Energy’s stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, analysts clearly believe Cheniere Energy is more favorable than Cheniere Energy Partners.

Profitability

This table compares Cheniere Energy Partners and Cheniere Energy’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Cheniere Energy Partners	31.28%	-328.60%	13.93%
Cheniere Energy	22.70%	41.44%	8.53%

Dividends

Cheniere Energy Partners pays an annual dividend of $3.10 per share and has a dividend yield of 5.9%. Cheniere Energy pays an annual dividend of $2.00 per share and has a dividend yield of 1.0%. Cheniere Energy Partners pays out 67.0% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Cheniere Energy pays out 12.8% 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.

Volatility and Risk

Cheniere Energy Partners has a beta of 0.73, indicating that its share price is 27% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Cheniere Energy has a beta of 0.97, indicating that its share price is 3% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Earnings & Valuation

This table compares Cheniere Energy Partners and Cheniere Energy”s revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Cheniere Energy Partners	$8.93 billion	2.83	$4.25 billion	$4.63	11.28
Cheniere Energy	$16.09 billion	2.91	$9.88 billion	$15.66	13.34

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

Institutional and Insider Ownership

46.5% of Cheniere Energy Partners shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 87.3% of Cheniere Energy shares are held by institutional investors. 0.3% of Cheniere Energy shares are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, large money managers and hedge funds believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Summary

Cheniere Energy beats Cheniere Energy Partners on 13 of the 16 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Cheniere Energy Partners

Cheniere Energy Partners, L.P., through its subsidiaries, provides liquefied natural gas (LNG) to integrated energy companies, utilities, and energy trading companies worldwide. The company owns and operates natural gas liquefaction and export facility at the Sabine Pass LNG Terminal located in Cameron Parish, Louisiana. It also owns a natural gas supply pipeline that interconnects the Sabine Pass LNG terminal with various interstate pipelines. The company was founded in 2003 and is headquartered in Houston, Texas. Cheniere Energy Partners, L.P. is a subsidiary of Cheniere Energy, Inc.

About Cheniere Energy

Cheniere Energy, Inc., an energy infrastructure company, primarily engages in the liquefied natural gas (LNG) related businesses in the United States. It owns and operates the Sabine Pass LNG terminal in Cameron Parish, Louisiana; and the Corpus Christi LNG terminal near Corpus Christi, Texas. The company also owns Creole Trail pipeline, a 94-mile natural gas supply pipeline that interconnects the Sabine Pass LNG Terminal with several interstate and intrastate pipelines; and operates Corpus Christi pipeline, a 21.5-mile natural gas supply pipeline that interconnects the Corpus Christi LNG terminal with various interstate and intrastate natural gas pipelines. It is also involved in the LNG and natural gas marketing business. The company was incorporated in 1983 and is headquartered in Houston, Texas.