Critical Comparison: PrimeEnergy Resources (NASDAQ:PNRG) vs. Murphy Oil (NYSE:MUR)

PrimeEnergy Resources (NASDAQ:PNRG) and Murphy Oil (NYSE:MUR) are both oils/energy companies, but which is the better stock? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their analyst recommendations, earnings, institutional ownership, dividends, risk, profitability and valuation.

Institutional & Insider Ownership

78.3% of Murphy Oil shares are held by institutional investors. 61.1% of PrimeEnergy Resources shares are held by insiders. Comparatively, 6.0% of Murphy Oil shares are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, endowments and hedge funds believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.

Risk and Volatility

PrimeEnergy Resources has a beta of 0.54, suggesting that its share price is 46% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Murphy Oil has a beta of 2.14, suggesting that its share price is 114% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Analyst Ratings

This is a breakdown of recent ratings and recommmendations for PrimeEnergy Resources and Murphy Oil, as provided by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
PrimeEnergy Resources	0	0	0	0	0.00
Murphy Oil	1	9	4	0	2.21

Murphy Oil has a consensus price target of $36.33, suggesting a potential upside of 35.50%. Given Murphy Oil’s stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, analysts plainly believe Murphy Oil is more favorable than PrimeEnergy Resources.

Valuation & Earnings

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

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
PrimeEnergy Resources	$123.12 million	2.75	$28.10 million	$23.26	8.47
Murphy Oil	$3.03 billion	1.29	$407.17 million	$2.69	9.97

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

Profitability

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

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
PrimeEnergy Resources	27.73%	32.76%	18.13%
Murphy Oil	13.44%	7.66%	4.28%

Summary

Murphy Oil beats PrimeEnergy Resources on 8 of the 14 factors compared between the two stocks.

About PrimeEnergy Resources

PrimeEnergy Resources Corporation, through its subsidiaries, engages in acquisition, development, and production of oil and natural gas properties in the United States. The company owns leasehold, mineral, and royalty interests in producing and non-producing oil and gas properties; and operates approximately 534 active wells and owns non-operating interests and royalties in 952 additional wells. It also acquires producing oil and gas properties through joint ventures with industry partners; and provides contract services to third parties, including well-servicing support, site-preparation, and construction services for oil and gas drilling and reworking operations. The company was formerly known as PrimeEnergy Corporation and changed its name to PrimeEnergy Resources Corporation in December 2018. PrimeEnergy Resources Corporation was incorporated in 1973 and is headquartered in Houston, Texas.

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.