Sasol (NYSE:SSL) & Exxon Mobil (NYSE:XOM) Head to Head Review

Sasol (NYSE:SSL) and Exxon Mobil (NYSE:XOM) are both energy companies, but which is the better investment? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their analyst recommendations, valuation, earnings, profitability, dividends, risk and institutional ownership.

Institutional and Insider Ownership

1.2% of Sasol shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 61.8% of Exxon Mobil shares are owned by institutional investors. 1.0% of Sasol shares are owned by insiders. Comparatively, 0.0% of Exxon Mobil shares are owned by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, endowments and large money managers believe a company will outperform the market over the long term.

Profitability

This table compares Sasol and Exxon Mobil’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Sasol	N/A	N/A	N/A
Exxon Mobil	8.99%	11.22%	6.69%

Earnings & Valuation

This table compares Sasol and Exxon Mobil”s top-line revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Sasol	$13.72 billion	0.32	$372.86 million	N/A	N/A
Exxon Mobil	$349.59 billion	1.48	$33.68 billion	$6.88	17.82

Exxon Mobil has higher revenue and earnings than Sasol.

Analyst Ratings

This is a breakdown of recent ratings and target prices for Sasol and Exxon Mobil, as reported by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Sasol	2	2	0	0	1.50
Exxon Mobil	1	13	10	1	2.44

Exxon Mobil has a consensus price target of $129.45, suggesting a potential upside of 5.59%. Given Exxon Mobil’s stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, analysts plainly believe Exxon Mobil is more favorable than Sasol.

Risk & Volatility

Sasol has a beta of 0.35, indicating that its share price is 65% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Exxon Mobil has a beta of 0.37, indicating that its share price is 63% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Summary

Exxon Mobil beats Sasol on 12 of the 13 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Sasol

Sasol Limited operates as a chemical and energy company in South Africa and internationally. It offers alumina, such as battery materials, catalyst supports, abrasives and polishing, and polymer additives; cobalt fischer-tropsch catalysts; carbon-based and recarburiser products; graphite electrodes; and mono-ethylene glycol and chlor-alkali products, monomers, mining chemicals and reagents, blends and hydrocarbons, methanol products, polymers, phenolics, and fertilizers. The company also provides linear alkyl benzene, sulfonate, macrogol/polyethylene glycol, ethanol, isopropyl, acetone, and MIBK and ethyl acetate products; and fatty alcohols, alkoxylates, ether sulfates, solvents, dispersants, diluents esters, alpha-hydroxy acids ester, waxes, diluents, guerbet alcohols, biosurfactants, C6-C20+ alcohols, ethoxylates, propoxylates, paraffins/isoparaffins, parafols, amines, alkylphenols, and sulfates. In addition, it offers alcohols, esters, ethers, carboxylic acids, surfactants, oil and water soluble polyglycols, formulation and surface modifiers, solvents and coalescents, wax cuts, blends and forms, FT hard waxes, blends, lubrication packages, nucleators, release agents, emulsifiers, wetting agents, tank-mix adjuvant components, fertilizer additives, and specialty solvents. Further, the company explores, develops, produces, markets, and distributes natural oil and gas, and associated products; markets fuels and lubricants; develops and implements GTL and CTL ventures; operates coal mines; trades and transports oil, petrochemicals, and chemical products and derivatives; and provides engineering, research and development, and technology transfer services. Sasol Limited was founded in 1950 and is based in Johannesburg, South Africa.

About Exxon Mobil

Exxon Mobil Corporation engages in the exploration and production of crude oil and natural gas in the United States and internationally. It operates through Upstream, Energy Products, Chemical Products, and Specialty Products segments. The Upstream segment explores for and produces crude oil and natural gas. The Energy Products segment offers fuels, aromatics, catalysts, and licensing services. It sells its products under the Exxon, Esso, and Mobil brands. The Chemical Products segment manufactures and markets petrochemicals, including olefins, polyolefins, and intermediates. The Specialty Products segment offers performance products, including lubricants, basestocks, waxes, synthetics, elastomers, and resins. The company is also involved in the manufacturing, trade, transport, and selling crude oil, natural gas, petroleum products, petrochemicals, and other specialty products in pursuit of lower-emission business opportunities, including carbon capture and storage, hydrogen, lower-emission fuels, and lithium. Exxon Mobil Corporation was founded in 1870 and is based in Spring, Texas.