Contrasting Prairie Operating (NASDAQ:PROP) and Occidental Petroleum (NYSE:OXY)

Occidental Petroleum (NYSE:OXY) and Prairie Operating (NASDAQ:PROP) are both energy companies, but which is the superior investment? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their profitability, earnings, valuation, analyst recommendations, risk, institutional ownership and dividends.

Volatility & Risk

Occidental Petroleum has a beta of 0.81, meaning that its share price is 19% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Prairie Operating has a beta of 3.13, meaning that its share price is 213% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Insider and Institutional Ownership

88.7% of Occidental Petroleum shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 34.3% of Prairie Operating shares are owned by institutional investors. 0.3% of Occidental Petroleum shares are owned by company insiders. Comparatively, 15.4% of Prairie Operating shares are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, large money managers and hedge funds believe a stock will outperform the market over the long term.

Earnings and Valuation

This table compares Occidental Petroleum and Prairie Operating”s gross revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Occidental Petroleum	$27.55 billion	1.51	$4.70 billion	$2.46	17.20
Prairie Operating	$21.53 million	7.94	-$79.08 million	($3.00)	-1.33

Occidental Petroleum has higher revenue and earnings than Prairie Operating. Prairie Operating is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Occidental Petroleum, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Profitability

This table compares Occidental Petroleum and Prairie Operating’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Occidental Petroleum	11.37%	16.33%	5.05%
Prairie Operating	N/A	-110.71%	-78.09%

Analyst Ratings

This is a summary of recent ratings and price targets for Occidental Petroleum and Prairie Operating, as reported by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Occidental Petroleum	2	14	5	0	2.14
Prairie Operating	0	0	2	0	3.00

Occidental Petroleum currently has a consensus target price of $53.14, indicating a potential upside of 25.57%. Prairie Operating has a consensus target price of $9.50, indicating a potential upside of 138.69%. Given Prairie Operating’s stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, analysts plainly believe Prairie Operating is more favorable than Occidental Petroleum.

Summary

Occidental Petroleum beats Prairie Operating on 9 of the 14 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Occidental Petroleum

Occidental Petroleum Corporation, together with its subsidiaries, engages in the acquisition, exploration, and development of oil and gas properties in the United States, the Middle East, and North Africa. It operates through three segments: Oil and Gas, Chemical, and Midstream and Marketing. The company's Oil and Gas segment explores for, develops, and produces oil and condensate, natural gas liquids (NGLs), and natural gas. Its Chemical segment manufactures and markets basic chemicals, including chlorine, caustic soda, chlorinated organics, potassium chemicals, ethylene dichloride, chlorinated isocyanurates, sodium silicates, and calcium chloride; and vinyls comprising vinyl chloride monomer, polyvinyl chloride, and ethylene. The Midstream and Marketing segment gathers, processes, transports, stores, purchases, and markets oil, condensate, NGLs, natural gas, carbon dioxide, and power. This segment also invests in entities. Occidental Petroleum Corporation was founded in 1920 and is headquartered in Houston, Texas.

About Prairie Operating

Prairie Operating Co., an independent energy company, engages in the development, exploration, and production of oil, natural gas, and natural gas liquids in the United States. The company holds assets in the Denver-Julesburg Basin in Colorado; and the Niobrara and Codell formations. Prairie Operating Co. is based in Houston Texas.