Contrasting Talos Energy (NYSE:TALO) and Enerplus (NYSE:ERF)

Talos Energy (NYSE:TALO) and Enerplus (NYSE:ERF) are both mid-cap oils/energy companies, but which is the better investment? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their institutional ownership, valuation, dividends, analyst recommendations, risk, profitability and earnings.

Insider & Institutional Ownership

89.4% of Talos Energy shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 58.4% of Enerplus shares are held by institutional investors. 0.8% of Talos Energy shares are held by insiders. Comparatively, 0.4% of Enerplus shares are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, large money managers and endowments believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.

Valuation and Earnings

This table compares Talos Energy and Enerplus’ gross revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Talos Energy	$1.46 billion	1.42	$187.33 million	$0.07	160.57
Enerplus	$1.69 billion	2.42	$456.08 million	$1.80	11.16

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

Volatility & Risk

Talos Energy has a beta of 1.92, indicating that its stock price is 92% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Enerplus has a beta of 1.97, indicating that its stock price is 97% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a summary of recent ratings and target prices for Talos Energy and Enerplus, as provided by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Talos Energy	0	0	8	0	3.00
Enerplus	1	1	4	0	2.50

Talos Energy presently has a consensus target price of $20.94, suggesting a potential upside of 86.28%. Enerplus has a consensus target price of $21.87, suggesting a potential upside of 8.86%. Given Talos Energy’s stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, equities research analysts clearly believe Talos Energy is more favorable than Enerplus.

Profitability

This table compares Talos Energy and Enerplus’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Talos Energy	-0.96%	-0.16%	-0.07%
Enerplus	24.09%	33.88%	19.89%

Summary

Enerplus beats Talos Energy on 8 of the 14 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Talos Energy

Talos Energy Inc., through its subsidiaries, engages in the exploration and production of oil, natural gas, and natural gas liquids in the United States and Mexico. It also engages in the development of carbon capture and sequestration. Talos Energy Inc. was founded in 2011 and is headquartered in Houston, Texas.

About Enerplus

Enerplus Corporation, together with its subsidiaries, explores and develops crude oil and natural gas in the United States. Its oil and natural gas properties are located primarily in North Dakota, Colorado, and Pennsylvania. The company was founded in 1986 and is headquartered in Calgary, Canada.