Enerplus (ERF) Competitors

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

Does the media prefer ERF or KOS?

In the previous week, Enerplus and Enerplus both had 4 articles in the media. Enerplus' average media sentiment score of 0.47 beat Kosmos Energy's score of 0.29 indicating that Enerplus is being referred to more favorably in the media.

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

Which has more risk and volatility, ERF or KOS?

Enerplus has a beta of 2.18, suggesting that its stock price is 118% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Kosmos Energy has a beta of 2.79, suggesting that its stock price is 179% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Does the MarketBeat Community prefer ERF or KOS?

Kosmos Energy received 28 more outperform votes than Enerplus when rated by MarketBeat users. Likewise, 65.31% of users gave Kosmos Energy an outperform vote while only 62.55% of users gave Enerplus an outperform vote.

Company	Underperform	Outperform
Enerplus	Outperform Votes 486 62.55%	Underperform Votes 291 37.45%
Kosmos Energy	Outperform Votes 514 65.31%	Underperform Votes 273 34.69%

Which has better earnings & valuation, ERF or KOS?

Enerplus has higher earnings, but lower revenue than Kosmos Energy. Enerplus is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Kosmos 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	$2.16 billion	1.46	$914.30 million	$4.32	3.40
Kosmos Energy	$2.30 billion	1.26	$226.55 million	$0.65	9.72

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

53.0% of Enerplus shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 87.1% of Kosmos Energy shares are owned by institutional investors. 0.4% of Enerplus shares are owned by insiders. Comparatively, 1.7% of Kosmos Energy shares are owned 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.

Do analysts prefer ERF or KOS?

Enerplus presently has a consensus target price of $25.43, indicating a potential upside of 73.10%. Kosmos Energy has a consensus target price of $154.71, indicating a potential upside of 2,347.91%. Given Kosmos Energy's higher possible upside, analysts clearly believe Kosmos Energy is more favorable than Enerplus.

Company	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Enerplus	0 Sell rating(s)	1 Hold rating(s)	4 Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.80
Kosmos Energy	0 Sell rating(s)	1 Hold rating(s)	4 Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.80

Is ERF or KOS more profitable?

Enerplus has a net margin of 44.08% compared to Kosmos Energy's net margin of 15.16%. Enerplus' return on equity of 72.62% beat Kosmos Energy's return on equity.

Company	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Enerplus	44.08%	72.62%	34.82%
Kosmos Energy	15.16%	51.10%	8.58%

Summary

Kosmos Energy beats Enerplus on 8 of the 15 factors compared between the two stocks.