PetroQuest Energy (OTCMKTS:PQUE – Get Rating) and Murphy Oil (NYSE:MUR – Get Rating) are both oils/energy companies, but which is the superior stock? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their valuation, risk, profitability, institutional ownership, analyst recommendations, dividends and earnings.
Volatility and Risk
PetroQuest Energy has a beta of 1.56, indicating that its share price is 56% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Murphy Oil has a beta of 2.37, indicating that its share price is 137% more volatile than the S&P 500.
Earnings and Valuation
This table compares PetroQuest Energy and Murphy Oil’s revenue, earnings per share and valuation.
| Gross Revenue | Price/Sales Ratio | Net Income | Earnings Per Share | Price/Earnings Ratio | |
| PetroQuest Energy | $108.29 million | 0.00 | -$6.63 million | ($0.55) | -0.04 |
| Murphy Oil | $3.93 billion | 1.42 | $965.05 million | $6.12 | 5.86 |
Insider & Institutional Ownership
1.6% of PetroQuest Energy shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 77.6% of Murphy Oil shares are owned by institutional investors. 8.8% of PetroQuest Energy shares are owned by insiders. Comparatively, 6.2% of Murphy Oil shares are owned by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, hedge funds and large money managers believe a company will outperform the market over the long term.
Profitability
This table compares PetroQuest Energy and Murphy Oil’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.
| Net Margins | Return on Equity | Return on Assets | |
| PetroQuest Energy | -4.93% | N/A | -3.76% |
| Murphy Oil | 24.54% | 18.82% | 8.46% |
Analyst Recommendations
This is a breakdown of recent ratings and target prices for PetroQuest Energy and Murphy Oil, as reported by MarketBeat.com.
| Sell Ratings | Hold Ratings | Buy Ratings | Strong Buy Ratings | Rating Score | |
| PetroQuest Energy | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | N/A |
| Murphy Oil | 0 | 4 | 7 | 0 | 2.64 |
Murphy Oil has a consensus target price of $47.70, indicating a potential upside of 32.98%. Given Murphy Oil’s higher probable upside, analysts plainly believe Murphy Oil is more favorable than PetroQuest Energy.
Summary
Murphy Oil beats PetroQuest Energy on 12 of the 13 factors compared between the two stocks.
About PetroQuest Energy
PetroQuest Energy, Inc. operates as an independent oil and gas company in Texas and Louisiana. The company acquires, explores for, develops, and operates oil and gas properties. As of December 31, 2017, it had estimated proved reserves of 1.8 million barrels of oil; 19.4 billion cubic feet equivalent of natural gas liquids; and 125.4 billion cubic feet of natural gas. PetroQuest Energy, Inc. was founded in 1983 and is headquartered in Lafayette, Louisiana.
About Murphy Oil
Murphy Oil Corp. is a holding company, which engages in the exploration and production of oil and natural gas. It operates through the Exploration and Production and Corporate and Other segment. The Exploration and Production segment includes the United States, Canada, and all other countries. The Corporate and Other segment focuses on interest income, other gains and losses, interest expense, and unallocated overhead. The company was founded by Charles H. Murphy Jr. in 1950 and is headquartered in Houston, TX.
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