Financial Survey: SunocoCorp (NYSE:SUNC) vs. Surge Energy (OTCMKTS:ZPTAF)

Surge Energy (OTCMKTS:ZPTAF) and SunocoCorp (NYSE:SUNC) are both energy companies, but which is the superior stock? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their risk, earnings, analyst recommendations, institutional ownership, valuation, dividends and profitability.

Valuation and Earnings

This table compares Surge Energy and SunocoCorp”s revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Surge Energy	N/A	N/A	N/A	$0.40	16.08
SunocoCorp	$25.20 billion	0.16	-$5.00 million	$2.89	27.04

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

Institutional & Insider Ownership

18.0% of Surge Energy shares are held by institutional investors. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, large money managers and endowments believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.

Analyst Ratings

This is a summary of current ratings and price targets for Surge Energy and SunocoCorp, as reported by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Surge Energy	0	1	1	0	2.50
SunocoCorp	1	1	3	1	2.67

SunocoCorp has a consensus target price of $81.00, indicating a potential upside of 3.66%. Given SunocoCorp’s stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, analysts clearly believe SunocoCorp is more favorable than Surge Energy.

Profitability

This table compares Surge Energy and SunocoCorp’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Surge Energy	N/A	N/A	N/A
SunocoCorp	N/A	N/A	N/A

Dividends

Surge Energy pays an annual dividend of $0.42 per share and has a dividend yield of 6.5%. SunocoCorp pays an annual dividend of $4.01 per share and has a dividend yield of 5.1%. Surge Energy pays out 105.0% of its earnings in the form of a dividend, suggesting it may not have sufficient earnings to cover its dividend payment in the future. SunocoCorp pays out 138.8% of its earnings in the form of a dividend, suggesting it may not have sufficient earnings to cover its dividend payment in the future. Surge Energy is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and lower payout ratio.

Summary

SunocoCorp beats Surge Energy on 7 of the 10 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Surge Energy

Surge Energy Inc. explores, develops, and produces oil and gas in western Canada. Its principal properties are located in the areas of Sparky, Southeast Saskatchewan, Carbonates, Valhalla, and Shaunavon in Alberta and Saskatchewan. The company was formerly known as Zapata Energy Corporation and changed its name to Surge Energy Inc. in June 2010. Surge Energy Inc. was incorporated in 1998 and is headquartered in Calgary, Canada.

About SunocoCorp

Sunoco LP is an energy infrastructure and fuel distribution master limited partnership. Sunoco LP is based in DALLAS.