PrimeEnergy Resources (NASDAQ:PNRG – Get Free Report) and Murphy Oil (NYSE:MUR – Get Free Report) are both oils/energy companies, but which is the superior business? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their valuation, profitability, dividends, risk, institutional ownership, earnings and analyst recommendations.
Analyst Ratings
This is a breakdown of current ratings and target prices for PrimeEnergy Resources and Murphy Oil, as reported by MarketBeat.com.
| Sell Ratings | Hold Ratings | Buy Ratings | Strong Buy Ratings | Rating Score | |
| PrimeEnergy Resources | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.00 |
| Murphy Oil | 1 | 9 | 4 | 0 | 2.21 |
Murphy Oil has a consensus price target of $36.33, suggesting a potential upside of 26.40%. Given Murphy Oil’s stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, analysts clearly believe Murphy Oil is more favorable than PrimeEnergy Resources.
Risk & Volatility
Institutional & Insider Ownership
78.3% of Murphy Oil shares are held by institutional investors. 61.1% of PrimeEnergy Resources shares are held by company insiders. Comparatively, 5.9% of Murphy Oil shares are held 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.
Profitability
This table compares PrimeEnergy Resources and Murphy Oil’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.
| Net Margins | Return on Equity | Return on Assets | |
| PrimeEnergy Resources | 27.73% | 32.76% | 18.13% |
| Murphy Oil | 13.44% | 7.66% | 4.28% |
Earnings and Valuation
This table compares PrimeEnergy Resources and Murphy Oil”s revenue, earnings per share and valuation.
| Gross Revenue | Price/Sales Ratio | Net Income | Earnings Per Share | Price/Earnings Ratio | |
| PrimeEnergy Resources | $123.12 million | 2.77 | $28.10 million | $23.26 | 8.54 |
| Murphy Oil | $3.03 billion | 1.38 | $407.17 million | $2.69 | 10.69 |
Murphy Oil has higher revenue and earnings than PrimeEnergy Resources. PrimeEnergy Resources is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Murphy Oil, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.
Summary
Murphy Oil beats PrimeEnergy Resources on 8 of the 14 factors compared between the two stocks.
About PrimeEnergy Resources
PrimeEnergy Resources Corporation, through its subsidiaries, engages in acquisition, development, and production of oil and natural gas properties in the United States. The company owns leasehold, mineral, and royalty interests in producing and non-producing oil and gas properties; and operates approximately 534 active wells and owns non-operating interests and royalties in 952 additional wells. It also acquires producing oil and gas properties through joint ventures with industry partners; and provides contract services to third parties, including well-servicing support, site-preparation, and construction services for oil and gas drilling and reworking operations. The company was formerly known as PrimeEnergy Corporation and changed its name to PrimeEnergy Resources Corporation in December 2018. PrimeEnergy Resources Corporation was incorporated in 1973 and is headquartered in Houston, Texas.
About Murphy Oil
Murphy Oil Corporation, together with its subsidiaries, operates as an oil and gas exploration and production company in the United States, Canada, and internationally. It explores for and produces crude oil, natural gas, and natural gas liquids. The company was formerly known as Murphy Corporation and changed its name to Murphy Oil Corporation in 1964. The company was incorporated in 1950 and is headquartered in Houston, Texas.
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