Financial Contrast: SandRidge Energy (NYSE:SD) and Prairie Operating (NASDAQ:PROP)

SandRidge Energy (NYSE:SD) and Prairie Operating (NASDAQ:PROP) are both small-cap energy companies, but which is the better investment? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their earnings, institutional ownership, valuation, risk, dividends, profitability and analyst recommendations.

Institutional & Insider Ownership

61.8% of SandRidge Energy shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 34.3% of Prairie Operating shares are owned by institutional investors. 1.5% of SandRidge Energy shares are owned by company insiders. Comparatively, 15.4% of Prairie Operating shares are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, hedge funds and large money managers believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Analyst Ratings

This is a breakdown of current ratings and recommmendations for SandRidge Energy and Prairie Operating, as provided by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
SandRidge Energy	0	1	0	0	2.00
Prairie Operating	1	2	3	0	2.33

Prairie Operating has a consensus price target of $6.75, suggesting a potential upside of 272.93%. Given Prairie Operating’s stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, analysts clearly believe Prairie Operating is more favorable than SandRidge Energy.

Risk & Volatility

SandRidge Energy has a beta of 0.91, meaning that its stock price is 9% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Prairie Operating has a beta of 2.07, meaning that its stock price is 107% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Earnings and Valuation

This table compares SandRidge Energy and Prairie Operating”s top-line revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
SandRidge Energy	$155.93 million	3.41	$62.99 million	$1.78	8.11
Prairie Operating	$166.58 million	0.55	-$40.91 million	($3.24)	-0.56

SandRidge Energy has higher earnings, but lower revenue than Prairie Operating. Prairie Operating is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than SandRidge Energy, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Profitability

This table compares SandRidge Energy and Prairie Operating’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
SandRidge Energy	51.77%	10.05%	7.96%
Prairie Operating	13.40%	68.36%	7.08%

About SandRidge Energy

SandRidge Energy, Inc. engages in the acquisition, development, and production of oil, natural gas, and natural gas liquids in the United States Mid-Continent. The company was incorporated in 2006 and is headquartered in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma.

About Prairie Operating

Prairie Operating Co., an independent energy company, engages in the development, exploration, and production of oil, natural gas, and natural gas liquids in the United States. The company holds assets in the Denver-Julesburg Basin in Colorado; and the Niobrara and Codell formations. Prairie Operating Co. is based in Houston Texas.