Comparing Dorchester Minerals (NASDAQ:DMLP) & W&T Offshore (NYSE:WTI)

Dorchester Minerals (NASDAQ:DMLP) and W&T Offshore (NYSE:WTI) are both small-cap energy companies, but which is the superior stock? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their analyst recommendations, institutional ownership, dividends, profitability, valuation, risk and earnings.

Earnings & Valuation

This table compares Dorchester Minerals and W&T Offshore”s top-line revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Dorchester Minerals	$152.83 million	9.57	$55.25 million	$1.76	16.93
W&T Offshore	$561.87 million	1.09	-$150.06 million	($0.34)	-11.91

Dorchester Minerals has higher earnings, but lower revenue than W&T Offshore. W&T Offshore is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Dorchester Minerals, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Insider and Institutional Ownership

19.2% of Dorchester Minerals shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 42.9% of W&T Offshore shares are held by institutional investors. 5.9% of Dorchester Minerals shares are held by company insiders. Comparatively, 35.9% of W&T Offshore shares are held by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, hedge funds and large money managers believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.

Volatility and Risk

Dorchester Minerals has a beta of 0.64, suggesting that its share price is 36% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, W&T Offshore has a beta of 0.35, suggesting that its share price is 65% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Dividends

Dorchester Minerals pays an annual dividend of $5.09 per share and has a dividend yield of 17.1%. W&T Offshore pays an annual dividend of $0.04 per share and has a dividend yield of 1.0%. Dorchester Minerals pays out 289.2% of its earnings in the form of a dividend, suggesting it may not have sufficient earnings to cover its dividend payment in the future. W&T Offshore pays out -11.8% of its earnings in the form of a dividend.

Profitability

This table compares Dorchester Minerals and W&T Offshore’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Dorchester Minerals	45.45%	28.43%	27.83%
W&T Offshore	-8.44%	N/A	-1.74%

Analyst Recommendations

This is a summary of current recommendations and price targets for Dorchester Minerals and W&T Offshore, as provided by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Dorchester Minerals	0	1	0	0	2.00
W&T Offshore	1	1	1	0	2.00

W&T Offshore has a consensus price target of $4.25, suggesting a potential upside of 4.94%. Given W&T Offshore’s higher probable upside, analysts clearly believe W&T Offshore is more favorable than Dorchester Minerals.

Summary

Dorchester Minerals beats W&T Offshore on 9 of the 15 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Dorchester Minerals

Dorchester Minerals, L.P. engages in the acquisition, ownership, and administration of royalty properties in the United States. Its royalty properties include producing and nonproducing mineral, royalty, overriding royalty, net profits, and leasehold interests in 593 counties and parishes in 28 states; and net profits interests represent net profits overriding royalty interests in various properties owned by the operating partnership. Dorchester Minerals Management LP serves as the general partner of Dorchester Minerals, L.P. The company was founded in 1982 and is based in Dallas, Texas.

About W&T Offshore

W&T Offshore, Inc. engages in the production, exploration, development, and acquisition of oil and natural gas properties. It focuses its operations in the Gulf of Mexico. The company was founded by Tracy W. Krohn in 1983 and is headquartered in Houston, TX.