Reviewing Advantage Energy (OTCMKTS:AAVVF) & Murphy Oil (NYSE:MUR)

Murphy Oil (NYSE:MUR) and Advantage Energy (OTCMKTS:AAVVF) are both oils/energy companies, but which is the superior investment? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their profitability, analyst recommendations, earnings, institutional ownership, dividends, valuation and risk.

Profitability

This table compares Murphy Oil and Advantage Energy’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Murphy Oil	17.32%	11.68%	6.56%
Advantage Energy	8.62%	2.90%	1.84%

Institutional and Insider Ownership

78.3% of Murphy Oil shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 7.9% of Advantage Energy shares are owned by institutional investors. 6.0% of Murphy Oil shares are owned by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, large money managers and hedge funds believe a stock will outperform the market over the long term.

Volatility and Risk

Murphy Oil has a beta of 2.21, suggesting that its share price is 121% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Advantage Energy has a beta of 1.64, suggesting that its share price is 64% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Analyst Ratings

This is a summary of recent ratings and price targets for Murphy Oil and Advantage Energy, as provided by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Murphy Oil	0	9	5	0	2.36
Advantage Energy	0	2	1	0	2.33

Murphy Oil presently has a consensus target price of $41.17, suggesting a potential upside of 25.43%. Advantage Energy has a consensus target price of $13.75, suggesting a potential upside of 119.25%. Given Advantage Energy’s higher possible upside, analysts plainly believe Advantage Energy is more favorable than Murphy Oil.

Valuation & Earnings

This table compares Murphy Oil and Advantage Energy”s top-line revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Murphy Oil	$3.46 billion	1.38	$661.56 million	$3.80	8.64
Advantage Energy	$400.81 million	2.61	$75.26 million	$0.20	31.36

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

Summary

Murphy Oil beats Advantage Energy on 11 of the 14 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Murphy Oil

Murphy Oil Corporation, together with its subsidiaries, operates as an oil and gas exploration and production company in the United States, Canada, and internationally. It explores for and produces crude oil, natural gas, and natural gas liquids. The company was formerly known as Murphy Corporation and changed its name to Murphy Oil Corporation in 1964. The company was incorporated in 1950 and is headquartered in Houston, Texas.

About Advantage Energy

Advantage Energy Ltd., together with its subsidiaries, engages in the acquisition, exploitation, development, and production natural gas, crude oil, and natural gas liquids (NGLs) in the Province of Alberta, Canada. Its assets are located approximately 4 to 80 km northwest of the city of Grande Prairie, Alberta. The company was formerly known as Advantage Oil & Gas Ltd. and changed its name to Advantage Energy Ltd. in May 2021. Advantage Energy Ltd. was founded in 2001 and is headquartered in Calgary, Canada.