Critical Comparison: Evolution Petroleum (NYSE:EPM) vs. Coterra Energy (NYSE:CTRA)

Coterra Energy (NYSE:CTRA) and Evolution Petroleum (NYSE:EPM) are both oils/energy companies, but which is the superior investment? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their analyst recommendations, dividends, profitability, earnings, institutional ownership, valuation and risk.

Analyst Ratings

This is a summary of recent ratings and price targets for Coterra Energy and Evolution Petroleum, as provided by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Coterra Energy	0	2	16	1	2.95
Evolution Petroleum	0	0	0	1	4.00

Coterra Energy currently has a consensus target price of $33.24, suggesting a potential upside of 18.04%. Given Coterra Energy’s higher possible upside, equities research analysts plainly believe Coterra Energy is more favorable than Evolution Petroleum.

Volatility and Risk

Coterra Energy has a beta of 0.27, indicating that its stock price is 73% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Evolution Petroleum has a beta of 0.87, indicating that its stock price is 13% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Profitability

This table compares Coterra Energy and Evolution Petroleum’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Coterra Energy	21.91%	9.38%	5.95%
Evolution Petroleum	5.36%	4.65%	2.52%

Earnings & Valuation

This table compares Coterra Energy and Evolution Petroleum”s top-line revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Coterra Energy	$5.91 billion	3.51	$1.63 billion	$1.66	16.96
Evolution Petroleum	$85.88 million	2.15	$4.08 million	$0.14	39.29

Coterra Energy has higher revenue and earnings than Evolution Petroleum. Coterra Energy is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Evolution Petroleum, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Dividends

Coterra Energy pays an annual dividend of $0.84 per share and has a dividend yield of 3.0%. Evolution Petroleum pays an annual dividend of $0.48 per share and has a dividend yield of 8.7%. Coterra Energy pays out 50.6% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Evolution Petroleum pays out 342.9% of its earnings in the form of a dividend, suggesting it may not have sufficient earnings to cover its dividend payment in the future.

Institutional and Insider Ownership

87.9% of Coterra Energy shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 60.1% of Evolution Petroleum shares are owned by institutional investors. 1.7% of Coterra Energy shares are owned by insiders. Comparatively, 10.1% of Evolution Petroleum shares are owned by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, hedge funds and large money managers believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.

Summary

Coterra Energy beats Evolution Petroleum on 11 of the 16 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Coterra Energy

Coterra Energy Inc., an independent oil and gas company, engages in the development, exploration, and production of oil, natural gas, and natural gas liquids in the United States. The company’s properties include the Marcellus Shale with approximately 186,000 net acres in the dry gas window of the play located in Susquehanna County, Pennsylvania; Permian Basin properties with approximately 296,000 net acres located in west Texas and southeast New Mexico; and Anadarko Basin properties with approximately 182,000 net acres located in Oklahoma. It also operates natural gas and saltwater gathering and disposal systems in Texas. The company sells its natural gas to industrial customers, local distribution companies, oil and gas marketers, major energy companies, pipeline companies, and power generation facilities. Coterra Energy Inc. was incorporated in 1989 and is headquartered in Houston, Texas.

About Evolution Petroleum

Evolution Petroleum Corporation, an energy company, engages in the development, production, ownership, and exploitation of onshore oil and gas properties in the United States. The company holds a non-operated interests in the SCOOP and STACK plays located in Central Oklahoma; the Chaveroo Field situated in Chaves and Roosevelt Counties, New Mexico; the Jonah Field located in Sublette County, Wyoming; the Williston Basin situated in Williston, North Dakota; the Barnett Shale field located in North Texas; the Hamilton Dome situated in Hot Springs County, Wyoming; and the Delhi Field, an onshore CO2-EOR project located in northeast Louisiana in Franklin, Madison, and Richland Parishes, as well as small overriding royalty interests in four onshore central Texas wells. The company was founded in 2003 and is based in Houston, Texas.