Range Resources (NYSE:RRC) & ERHC Energy (OTCMKTS:ERHE) Critical Analysis

ERHC Energy (OTCMKTS:ERHE) and Range Resources (NYSE:RRC) are both energy companies, but which is the superior investment? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their earnings, valuation, institutional ownership, risk, profitability, dividends and analyst recommendations.

Volatility and Risk

ERHC Energy has a beta of -5.28, indicating that its share price is 628% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Range Resources has a beta of 0.41, indicating that its share price is 59% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Institutional & Insider Ownership

98.9% of Range Resources shares are held by institutional investors. 4.9% of ERHC Energy shares are held by insiders. Comparatively, 1.1% of Range Resources shares are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, hedge funds and endowments believe a stock will outperform the market over the long term.

Analyst Ratings

This is a breakdown of recent recommendations for ERHC Energy and Range Resources, as reported by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
ERHC Energy	0	0	0	0	0.00
Range Resources	2	14	3	1	2.15

Range Resources has a consensus target price of $43.12, indicating a potential upside of 10.64%. Given Range Resources’ stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, analysts plainly believe Range Resources is more favorable than ERHC Energy.

Profitability

This table compares ERHC Energy and Range Resources’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
ERHC Energy	N/A	N/A	N/A
Range Resources	25.04%	18.63%	11.23%

Earnings & Valuation

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

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
ERHC Energy	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A
Range Resources	$3.12 billion	2.92	$658.02 million	$3.62	10.77

Range Resources has higher revenue and earnings than ERHC Energy.

Summary

Range Resources beats ERHC Energy on 10 of the 11 factors compared between the two stocks.

About ERHC Energy

ERHC Energy Inc. engages in the exploration and exploitation of oil and gas resources in Africa. Its principal assets include the rights to working interests in exploration acreage in the Republic of Kenya; the Republic of Chad; the Joint Development Zone between the Democratic Republic of Sao Tome and Principe; the Federal Republic of Nigeria; and the economic zone of Sao Tome. The company was founded in 1986 and is based in Houston, Texas.

About Range Resources

Range Resources Corporation operates as an independent natural gas, natural gas liquids (NGLs), crude oil, and condensate company in the United States. The company engages in the exploration, development, and acquisition of natural gas and crude oil properties located in the Appalachian region. It sells natural gas to utilities, marketing and midstream companies, and industrial users; NGLs to petrochemical end users, marketers/traders, and natural gas processors; and oil and condensate to crude oil processors, transporters, and refining and marketing companies. The company was formerly known as Lomak Petroleum Inc. and changed its name to Range Resources Corporation in August 1998. Range Resources Corporation was founded in 1976 and is headquartered in Fort Worth, Texas.