Head to Head Review: Noble (NYSE:NE) and Royale Energy (OTCMKTS:ROYL)

Noble (NYSE:NE) and Royale Energy (OTCMKTS:ROYL) are both energy companies, but which is the superior investment? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their earnings, risk, dividends, analyst recommendations, profitability, institutional ownership and valuation.

Valuation & Earnings

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

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Noble	$3.29 billion	1.86	$216.72 million	$1.43	26.80
Royale Energy	$2.23 million	4.01	-$2.16 million	($0.03)	-3.08

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

Analyst Recommendations

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

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Noble	0	9	2	0	2.18
Royale Energy	0	0	0	0	0.00

Noble presently has a consensus target price of $45.38, indicating a potential upside of 18.40%. Given Noble’s stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, research analysts clearly believe Noble is more favorable than Royale Energy.

Volatility & Risk

Noble has a beta of 0.89, meaning that its share price is 11% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Royale Energy has a beta of -0.32, meaning that its share price is 132% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Profitability

This table compares Noble and Royale Energy’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Noble	7.17%	2.32%	1.40%
Royale Energy	-129.71%	N/A	-15.97%

Institutional and Insider Ownership

68.1% of Noble shares are held by institutional investors. 1.5% of Noble shares are held by insiders. Comparatively, 61.8% of Royale Energy shares are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, endowments and large money managers believe a stock will outperform the market over the long term.

Summary

Noble beats Royale Energy on 12 of the 14 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Noble

Noble Corp. Plc engages in the provision offshore drilling services for oil and gas industry. It focuses on a balanced fleet of floating and jackup rigs and the deployment of drilling rigs in oil and gas basins around the world. The company was founded by Lloyd Noble and Art Olson in 1921 and is headquartered in London, the United Kingdom.

About Royale Energy

Royale Energy, Inc. acquires, explores for, develops, produces, and sells oil and natural gas properties in the United States. Its principal operations are located in the Sacramento Basin and San Joaquin Basin in California, as well as in Utah, Texas, Oklahoma, Louisiana, and Colorado. Royale Energy, Inc. was incorporated in 1986 and is based in El Cajon, California.