Enerplus (ERF) Competitors

Enerplus (NYSE:ERF) and Vista Energy (NYSE:VIST) are both mid-cap oils/energy companies, but which is the better investment? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their analyst recommendations, valuation, earnings, community ranking, media sentiment, profitability, dividends, risk and institutional ownership.

Which has better valuation & earnings, ERF or VIST?

Enerplus has higher revenue and earnings than Vista Energy. Enerplus is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Vista Energy, 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
Enerplus	$1.69B	2.40	$456.08M	$2.10	9.49
Vista Energy	$1.17B	3.33	$396.95M	$3.97	10.56

Which has more volatility & risk, ERF or VIST?

Enerplus has a beta of 1.99, meaning that its share price is 99% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Vista Energy has a beta of 1.97, meaning that its share price is 97% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Do institutionals and insiders hold more shares of ERF or VIST?

58.4% of Enerplus shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 63.8% of Vista Energy shares are held by institutional investors. 0.4% of Enerplus shares are held by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, large money managers and endowments believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Does the media prefer ERF or VIST?

In the previous week, Vista Energy had 4 more articles in the media than Enerplus. MarketBeat recorded 10 mentions for Vista Energy and 6 mentions for Enerplus. Enerplus' average media sentiment score of 0.63 beat Vista Energy's score of 0.26 indicating that Enerplus is being referred to more favorably in the media.

Company	Very Positive	Positive	Neutral	Negative	Very Negative	Overall Sentiment
Enerplus	2 Very Positive mention(s)	2 Positive mention(s)	2 Neutral mention(s)	0 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Positive
Vista Energy	3 Very Positive mention(s)	2 Positive mention(s)	2 Neutral mention(s)	1 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Neutral

Is ERF or VIST more profitable?

Vista Energy has a net margin of 35.03% compared to Enerplus' net margin of 27.67%. Vista Energy's return on equity of 50.51% beat Enerplus' return on equity.

Company	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Enerplus	27.67%	40.36%	23.44%
Vista Energy	35.03%	50.51%	22.34%

Do analysts recommend ERF or VIST?

Enerplus presently has a consensus target price of $21.69, suggesting a potential upside of 8.82%. Vista Energy has a consensus target price of $50.00, suggesting a potential upside of 19.25%. Given Vista Energy's higher possible upside, analysts plainly believe Vista Energy is more favorable than Enerplus.

Company	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Enerplus	0 Sell rating(s)	0 Hold rating(s)	6 Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	3.00
Vista Energy	0 Sell rating(s)	2 Hold rating(s)	1 Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.33

Does the MarketBeat Community believe in ERF or VIST?

Enerplus received 482 more outperform votes than Vista Energy when rated by MarketBeat users. Likewise, 62.23% of users gave Enerplus an outperform vote while only 37.84% of users gave Vista Energy an outperform vote.

Company	Underperform	Outperform
Enerplus	Outperform Votes 496 62.23%	Underperform Votes 301 37.77%
Vista Energy	Outperform Votes 14 37.84%	Underperform Votes 23 62.16%

Summary

Enerplus beats Vista Energy on 10 of the 18 factors compared between the two stocks.