Head to Head Comparison: Baytex Energy (NYSE:BTE) & Tourmaline Oil (OTCMKTS:TRMLF)

Baytex Energy (NYSE:BTE) and Tourmaline Oil (OTCMKTS:TRMLF) are both energy companies, but which is the better stock? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their analyst recommendations, dividends, risk, valuation, earnings, profitability and institutional ownership.

Volatility and Risk

Baytex Energy has a beta of 0.37, indicating that its stock price is 63% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Tourmaline Oil has a beta of -0.28, indicating that its stock price is 128% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Profitability

This table compares Baytex Energy and Tourmaline Oil’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Baytex Energy	-24.25%	-10.85%	-6.38%
Tourmaline Oil	10.27%	10.46%	7.24%

Dividends

Baytex Energy pays an annual dividend of $0.07 per share and has a dividend yield of 1.5%. Tourmaline Oil pays an annual dividend of $1.45 per share and has a dividend yield of 3.2%. Baytex Energy pays out -10.0% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Tourmaline Oil pays out 106.6% of its earnings in the form of a dividend, suggesting it may not have sufficient earnings to cover its dividend payment in the future.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a breakdown of current ratings for Baytex Energy and Tourmaline Oil, as provided by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Baytex Energy	1	6	3	1	2.36
Tourmaline Oil	0	6	3	2	2.64

Tourmaline Oil has a consensus target price of $65.00, indicating a potential upside of 42.20%. Given Tourmaline Oil’s stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, analysts plainly believe Tourmaline Oil is more favorable than Baytex Energy.

Valuation and Earnings

This table compares Baytex Energy and Tourmaline Oil”s gross revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Baytex Energy	$2.56 billion	1.35	-$432.12 million	($0.70)	-6.81
Tourmaline Oil	$4.72 billion	3.76	$187.99 million	$1.36	33.61

Tourmaline Oil has higher revenue and earnings than Baytex Energy. Baytex Energy is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Tourmaline Oil, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Insider and Institutional Ownership

46.2% of Baytex Energy shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 1.8% of Tourmaline Oil shares are held by institutional investors. 0.8% of Baytex Energy shares are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, endowments and hedge funds believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Summary

Tourmaline Oil beats Baytex Energy on 12 of the 16 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Baytex Energy

Baytex Energy Corp. is an oil & gas exploration and production company. The firm engages in the acquisition, development and production of crude oil and natural gas in the Western Canadian Sedimentary Basin and in the Eagle Ford in the United States. The company was founded on June 3, 1993 and is headquartered in Calgary, Canada.

About Tourmaline Oil

Tourmaline Oil Corp. explores for and develops oil and natural gas properties in the Western Canadian Sedimentary Basin. The company holds interests in properties located in the Alberta Deep Basin, Northeast British Columbia Montney, and the Peace River High Triassic oil complex. Tourmaline Oil Corp. was incorporated in 2008 and is headquartered in Calgary, Canada.