Gran Tierra Energy (NYSEAMERICAN:GTE) and QEP Resources (NYSE:QEP) are both small-cap oils/energy companies, but which is the better investment? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their analyst recommendations, institutional ownership, earnings, profitability, valuation, dividends and risk.
Insider & Institutional Ownership
42.9% of Gran Tierra Energy shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 55.6% of QEP Resources shares are held by institutional investors. 3.0% of Gran Tierra Energy shares are held by company insiders. Comparatively, 2.9% of QEP Resources shares are held by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, endowments and large money managers believe a company is poised for long-term growth.
Analyst Recommendations
This is a summary of current ratings and target prices for Gran Tierra Energy and QEP Resources, as reported by MarketBeat.com.
| Sell Ratings | Hold Ratings | Buy Ratings | Strong Buy Ratings | Rating Score |
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Gran Tierra Energy | 1 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 2.00 |
QEP Resources | 2 | 6 | 2 | 0 | 2.00 |
Gran Tierra Energy currently has a consensus target price of $0.9125, suggesting a potential upside of 16.93%. QEP Resources has a consensus target price of $1.6750, suggesting a potential downside of 60.59%. Given Gran Tierra Energy's higher possible upside, research analysts clearly believe Gran Tierra Energy is more favorable than QEP Resources.
Volatility & Risk
Gran Tierra Energy has a beta of 2.25, indicating that its share price is 125% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, QEP Resources has a beta of 5.24, indicating that its share price is 424% more volatile than the S&P 500.
Profitability
This table compares Gran Tierra Energy and QEP Resources' net margins, return on equity and return on assets.
| Net Margins | Return on Equity | Return on Assets |
---|
Gran Tierra Energy | -233.60% | -15.72% | -6.17% |
QEP Resources | 2.77% | 1.39% | 0.71% |
Earnings and Valuation
This table compares Gran Tierra Energy and QEP Resources' gross revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.
| Gross Revenue | Price/Sales Ratio | Net Income | Earnings Per Share | Price/Earnings Ratio |
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Gran Tierra Energy | $570.98 million | 0.51 | $38.69 million | N/A | N/A |
QEP Resources | $1.21 billion | 0.85 | $-97,300,000.00 | N/A | N/A |
Gran Tierra Energy has higher earnings, but lower revenue than QEP Resources.
Summary
QEP Resources beats Gran Tierra Energy on 9 of the 12 factors compared between the two stocks.