Head-To-Head Review: Greenfire Resources (NYSE:GFR) & SM Energy (NYSE:SM)

SM Energy (NYSE:SM) and Greenfire Resources (NYSE:GFR) are both energy companies, but which is the better investment? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their analyst recommendations, risk, institutional ownership, dividends, profitability, earnings and valuation.

Earnings and Valuation

This table compares SM Energy and Greenfire Resources”s top-line revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
SM Energy	$2.95 billion	0.91	$817.88 million	$7.14	3.28
Greenfire Resources	$805.62 million	0.39	-$100.50 million	$1.85	2.42

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

Profitability

This table compares SM Energy and Greenfire Resources’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
SM Energy	28.63%	19.82%	10.59%
Greenfire Resources	5.02%	5.40%	3.13%

Analyst Ratings

This is a summary of recent ratings and target prices for SM Energy and Greenfire Resources, as reported by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
SM Energy	0	6	6	1	2.62
Greenfire Resources	0	0	1	0	3.00

SM Energy presently has a consensus price target of $42.92, indicating a potential upside of 83.03%. Greenfire Resources has a consensus price target of $10.50, indicating a potential upside of 134.64%. Given Greenfire Resources’ stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, analysts clearly believe Greenfire Resources is more favorable than SM Energy.

Volatility and Risk

SM Energy has a beta of 2.17, suggesting that its share price is 117% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Greenfire Resources has a beta of 0.31, suggesting that its share price is 69% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Insider and Institutional Ownership

94.6% of SM Energy shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 88.9% of Greenfire Resources shares are owned by institutional investors. 1.5% of SM Energy shares are owned by company insiders. Comparatively, 20.0% of Greenfire Resources shares are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, endowments and large money managers believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Summary

SM Energy beats Greenfire Resources on 11 of the 15 factors compared between the two stocks.

About SM Energy

SM Energy Company, an independent energy company, engages in the acquisition, exploration, development, and production of oil, gas, and natural gas liquids in the state of Texas. It has working interests in oil and gas producing wells in the Midland Basin and South Texas. The company was formerly known as St. Mary Land & Exploration Company and changed its name to SM Energy Company in May 2010. SM Energy Company was founded in 1908 and is headquartered in Denver, Colorado.

About Greenfire Resources

Greenfire Resources Ltd., together with its subsidiaries, engages in the development, exploration, and operation of oil and gas properties in the Athabasca oil sands region of Alberta. The company operates the Tier-1 oil sands assets located in Western Canada. It utilizes steam-assisted gravity drainage (SAGD) extraction technology, a situ thermal oil recovery process to recover diluted and non- diluted bitumen. The company is headquartered in Calgary, Canada.