Head-To-Head Survey: Baytex Energy (NYSE:BTE) & Paramount Resources (OTCMKTS:PRMRF)

Baytex Energy (NYSE:BTE) and Paramount Resources (OTCMKTS:PRMRF) are both mid-cap energy companies, but which is the superior business? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their analyst recommendations, risk, profitability, earnings, institutional ownership, valuation and dividends.

Risk and Volatility

Baytex Energy has a beta of 0.39, meaning that its share price is 61% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Paramount Resources has a beta of 0.64, meaning that its share price is 36% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Profitability

This table compares Baytex Energy and Paramount Resources’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Baytex Energy	-24.25%	-9.78%	-5.63%
Paramount Resources	149.02%	1.53%	1.15%

Analyst Recommendations

This is a breakdown of recent ratings and target prices for Baytex Energy and Paramount Resources, as provided by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Baytex Energy	1	4	3	1	2.44
Paramount Resources	0	3	4	1	2.75

Dividends

Baytex Energy pays an annual dividend of $0.07 per share and has a dividend yield of 1.5%. Paramount Resources pays an annual dividend of $0.43 per share and has a dividend yield of 2.0%. Baytex Energy pays out -10.0% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Paramount Resources pays out 7.1% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Both companies have healthy payout ratios and should be able to cover their dividend payments with earnings for the next several years.

Earnings & Valuation

This table compares Baytex Energy and Paramount Resources”s revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Baytex Energy	$2.56 billion	1.38	-$432.12 million	($0.70)	-6.89
Paramount Resources	$692.73 million	4.47	$922.32 million	$6.09	3.50

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

Insider & Institutional Ownership

46.2% of Baytex Energy shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 4.1% of Paramount Resources shares are owned by institutional investors. 0.8% of Baytex Energy shares are owned by company insiders. Comparatively, 36.3% of Paramount Resources shares are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, endowments and large money managers believe a company will outperform the market over the long term.

Summary

Paramount Resources beats Baytex Energy on 12 of the 15 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Baytex Energy

Baytex Energy Corp. is an oil & gas exploration and production company. The firm engages in the acquisition, development and production of crude oil and natural gas in the Western Canadian Sedimentary Basin and in the Eagle Ford in the United States. The company was founded on June 3, 1993 and is headquartered in Calgary, Canada.

About Paramount Resources

Paramount Resources Ltd. explores for and develops conventional and unconventional petroleum and natural gas reserves and resources in Canada. The company holds interests in the Karr and Wapiti Montney properties covering an area of 109,000 net acres located south of the city of Grande Prairie, Alberta; Kaybob North Duvernay development and natural gas producing properties covering an area of 124,000 net acres located in west-central Alberta; and Willesden Green Duvernay development in central Alberta and shale gas producing properties in the Horn River Basin in northeast British Columbia covering an area of 249,000 net acres. The company was founded in 1976 and is based in Calgary, Canada.