Financial Contrast: Atlas Energy Group (OTCMKTS:ATLS) versus TETRA Technologies (NYSE:TTI)

Atlas Energy Group (OTCMKTS:ATLS) and TETRA Technologies (NYSE:TTI) are both small-cap oils/energy companies, but which is the superior investment? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their risk, profitability, institutional ownership, earnings, valuation, dividends and analyst recommendations.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a summary of recent ratings and price targets for Atlas Energy Group and TETRA Technologies, as provided by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Atlas Energy Group	0	0	0	0	N/A
TETRA Technologies	0	0	3	0	3.00

TETRA Technologies has a consensus price target of $7.00, suggesting a potential upside of 58.37%. Given TETRA Technologies’ higher probable upside, analysts clearly believe TETRA Technologies is more favorable than Atlas Energy Group.

Profitability

This table compares Atlas Energy Group and TETRA Technologies’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Atlas Energy Group	N/A	N/A	N/A
TETRA Technologies	4.12%	25.28%	7.38%

Insider and Institutional Ownership

70.2% of TETRA Technologies shares are owned by institutional investors. 12.4% of Atlas Energy Group shares are owned by insiders. Comparatively, 4.8% of TETRA Technologies shares are owned by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, hedge funds and large money managers believe a stock will outperform the market over the long term.

Valuation & Earnings

This table compares Atlas Energy Group and TETRA Technologies’ top-line revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Atlas Energy Group	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A
TETRA Technologies	$626.26 million	0.93	$25.78 million	$0.20	22.10

TETRA Technologies has higher revenue and earnings than Atlas Energy Group.

Risk and Volatility

Atlas Energy Group has a beta of 0.38, suggesting that its stock price is 62% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, TETRA Technologies has a beta of 2.2, suggesting that its stock price is 120% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Summary

TETRA Technologies beats Atlas Energy Group on 8 of the 9 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Atlas Energy Group

Atlas Energy Group, LLC, through its subsidiaries, develops and produces natural gas, crude oil, and natural gas liquids in the United States. The company has interests in the Eagle Ford Shale in southern Texas; the Marble Falls play in the Fort Worth Basin in northern Texas; and the Mississippi Lime play in northwestern Oklahoma. It also focuses on investing in master limited partnership qualifying energy-related businesses and assets. The company was founded in 2011 and is based in Fort Worth, Texas.

About TETRA Technologies

TETRA Technologies, Inc., together with its subsidiaries, operates as an energy services and solutions company. It operates through two segments, Completion Fluids & Products Division and Water & Flowback Services. The Completion Fluids & Products segment manufactures and markets clear brine fluids, additives, and associated products and services to the oil and gas industry for use in well drilling, completion, and workover operations in the United States, as well as in Latin America, Europe, Asia, the Middle East, and Africa. This segment also markets liquid and dry calcium chloride products; and TETRA PureFlow ultra-pure zinc bromide to battery technology companies. The Water & Flowback Services segment provides water management services for onshore oil and gas operators. This segment also offers frac flowback, production well testing, and other associated services in oil and gas producing regions in the United States, as well as in various basins in Latin America, Africa, Europe, and the Middle East. TETRA Technologies, Inc. was incorporated in 1981 and is headquartered in The Woodlands, Texas.