Return Energy (CVE:RTN) and Whitecap Resources (TSE:WCP) are both mid-cap energy companies, but which is the superior investment? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their analyst recommendations, dividends, profitability, valuation, earnings, risk and institutional ownership.
Dividends
Return Energy pays an annual dividend of C$3.47 per share and has a dividend yield of 9,914.3%. Whitecap Resources pays an annual dividend of C$0.26 per share and has a dividend yield of 4.5%. Return Energy pays out -43,375.0% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Whitecap Resources pays out -5.7% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Both companies have healthy payout ratios and should be able to cover their dividend payments with earnings for the next several years. Return Energy is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and lower payout ratio.
Profitability
This table compares Return Energy and Whitecap Resources' net margins, return on equity and return on assets.
| Net Margins | Return on Equity | Return on Assets |
|---|
| Return Energy | N/A | N/A | N/A |
| Whitecap Resources | N/A | N/A | N/A |
Earnings and Valuation
This table compares Return Energy and Whitecap Resources' revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.
| Gross Revenue | Price/Sales Ratio | Net Income | Earnings Per Share | Price/Earnings Ratio |
|---|
| Return Energy | C$1.54 million | 0.59 | C$-208,848.00 | C($0.01) | -4.38 |
| Whitecap Resources | C$894.44 million | 3.83 | C$-2,699,949,680.00 | C($4.52) | -1.27 |
Return Energy has higher earnings, but lower revenue than Whitecap Resources. Return Energy is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Whitecap Resources, 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 Return Energy and Whitecap Resources, as provided by MarketBeat.com.
| Sell Ratings | Hold Ratings | Buy Ratings | Strong Buy Ratings | Rating Score |
|---|
| Return Energy | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | N/A |
| Whitecap Resources | 0 | 0 | 5 | 1 | 3.17 |
Whitecap Resources has a consensus target price of C$5.39, indicating a potential downside of 5.92%. Given Whitecap Resources' higher possible upside, analysts clearly believe Whitecap Resources is more favorable than Return Energy.
Summary
Whitecap Resources beats Return Energy on 6 of the 10 factors compared between the two stocks.
