Ascent Resources (AST) Competitors

Ascent Resources (LON:AST) and Nostrum Oil & Gas (LON:NOG) are both small-cap energy companies, but which is the superior investment? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their dividends, risk, analyst recommendations, earnings, profitability, community ranking, media sentiment, institutional ownership and valuation.

Does the media favor AST or NOG?

In the previous week, Nostrum Oil & Gas had 2 more articles in the media than Ascent Resources. MarketBeat recorded 2 mentions for Nostrum Oil & Gas and 0 mentions for Ascent Resources. Ascent Resources' average media sentiment score of 0.00 equaled Nostrum Oil & Gas'average media sentiment score.

Company	Overall Sentiment
Ascent Resources	Neutral
Nostrum Oil & Gas	Neutral

Do analysts recommend AST or NOG?

Nostrum Oil & Gas has a consensus price target of GBX 6, suggesting a potential upside of 49.25%. Given Nostrum Oil & Gas' stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, analysts clearly believe Nostrum Oil & Gas is more favorable than Ascent Resources.

Company	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Ascent Resources	0 Sell rating(s)	0 Hold rating(s)	0 Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	0.00
Nostrum Oil & Gas	0 Sell rating(s)	1 Hold rating(s)	0 Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.00

Is AST or NOG more profitable?

Nostrum Oil & Gas has a net margin of -59.05% compared to Ascent Resources' net margin of -3,901.89%. Ascent Resources' return on equity of 432.64% beat Nostrum Oil & Gas' return on equity.

Company	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Ascent Resources	-3,901.89%	432.64%	-114.93%
Nostrum Oil & Gas	-59.05%	74.84%	1.53%

Does the MarketBeat Community believe in AST or NOG?

Nostrum Oil & Gas received 144 more outperform votes than Ascent Resources when rated by MarketBeat users. Likewise, 70.84% of users gave Nostrum Oil & Gas an outperform vote while only 60.73% of users gave Ascent Resources an outperform vote.

Company	Underperform	Outperform
Ascent Resources	Outperform Votes 133 60.73%	Underperform Votes 86 39.27%
Nostrum Oil & Gas	Outperform Votes 277 70.84%	Underperform Votes 114 29.16%

Which has more risk and volatility, AST or NOG?

Ascent Resources has a beta of 0.01, suggesting that its share price is 99% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Nostrum Oil & Gas has a beta of 1.33, suggesting that its share price is 33% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Which has stronger earnings & valuation, AST or NOG?

Ascent Resources has higher earnings, but lower revenue than Nostrum Oil & Gas. Ascent Resources is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Nostrum Oil & Gas, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Company	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Ascent Resources	£73.58K	36.81	-£2.87M	-£0.98	-0.92
Nostrum Oil & Gas	£206.12M	0.05	-£121.71M	-£29.66	-0.14

Do institutionals & insiders have more ownership in AST or NOG?

17.8% of Ascent Resources shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 22.3% of Nostrum Oil & Gas shares are owned by institutional investors. 57.8% of Ascent Resources shares are owned by company insiders. Comparatively, 44.3% of Nostrum Oil & Gas shares are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, hedge funds and endowments believe a company will outperform the market over the long term.

Summary

Nostrum Oil & Gas beats Ascent Resources on 11 of the 16 factors compared between the two stocks.