Head to Head Analysis: Obsidian Energy (OTCMKTS:OBELF) and Chesapeake Energy (NASDAQ:EXE)

Obsidian Energy (OTCMKTS:OBELF) and Chesapeake Energy (NASDAQ:EXE) are both oils/energy companies, but which is the better stock? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their profitability, earnings, analyst recommendations, dividends, institutional ownership, valuation and risk.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a breakdown of current ratings for Obsidian Energy and Chesapeake Energy, as provided by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Obsidian Energy	0	0	0	0	0.00
Chesapeake Energy	0	3	4	1	2.75

Chesapeake Energy has a consensus target price of $101.71, indicating a potential upside of 3.00%. Given Chesapeake Energy’s stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, analysts plainly believe Chesapeake Energy is more favorable than Obsidian Energy.

Volatility and Risk

Obsidian Energy has a beta of 2.47, meaning that its share price is 147% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Chesapeake Energy has a beta of 0.46, meaning that its share price is 54% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Profitability

This table compares Obsidian Energy and Chesapeake Energy’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Obsidian Energy	99.13%	78.07%	35.32%
Chesapeake Energy	6.07%	2.74%	2.08%

Institutional & Insider Ownership

0.0% of Obsidian Energy shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 97.9% of Chesapeake Energy shares are owned by institutional investors. 58.0% of Chesapeake Energy shares are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, hedge funds and endowments believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Earnings and Valuation

This table compares Obsidian Energy and Chesapeake Energy”s top-line revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Obsidian Energy	$220.00 million	2.10	-$576.07 million	$4.17	1.37
Chesapeake Energy	$4.03 billion	5.66	$2.42 billion	$1.62	60.96

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

Summary

Chesapeake Energy beats Obsidian Energy on 10 of the 15 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Obsidian Energy

Obsidian Energy Ltd. is an exploration and production company. The firm engages in exploring, developing, and holds interests in oil and natural gas properties and related production infrastructure in the Western Canada Sedimentary Basin directly and through investments in securities of subsidiaries holding such interests. Its property portfolio includes Cardium, Viking, and Peace River. The company was founded on December 27, 1979 and is headquartered in Calgary, Canada.

About Chesapeake Energy

Expand Energy Corporation is an independent natural gas producer principally in the United States. Expand Energy Corporation, formerly known as Chesapeake Energy Corporation, is based in OKLAHOMA CITY.