Chord Energy (NASDAQ:CHRD) & Murphy Oil (NYSE:MUR) Head to Head Review

Chord Energy (NASDAQ:CHRD) and Murphy Oil (NYSE:MUR) are both mid-cap energy companies, but which is the superior business? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their dividends, institutional ownership, risk, earnings, profitability, analyst recommendations and valuation.

Dividends

Chord Energy pays an annual dividend of $5.20 per share and has a dividend yield of 3.9%. Murphy Oil pays an annual dividend of $1.40 per share and has a dividend yield of 3.6%. Chord Energy pays out 825.4% of its earnings in the form of a dividend, suggesting it may not have sufficient earnings to cover its dividend payment in the future. Murphy Oil pays out 194.4% of its earnings in the form of a dividend, suggesting it may not have sufficient earnings to cover its dividend payment in the future. Chord Energy has raised its dividend for 1 consecutive years and Murphy Oil has raised its dividend for 5 consecutive years.

Profitability

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

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Chord Energy	0.91%	6.71%	4.26%
Murphy Oil	3.83%	3.73%	2.01%

Earnings and Valuation

This table compares Chord Energy and Murphy Oil”s gross revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Chord Energy	$4.88 billion	1.56	$44.46 million	$0.63	213.45
Murphy Oil	$2.69 billion	2.05	$104.23 million	$0.72	53.39

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

Analyst Recommendations

This is a breakdown of recent ratings and target prices for Chord Energy and Murphy Oil, as provided by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Chord Energy	0	4	10	1	2.80
Murphy Oil	1	12	2	0	2.07

Chord Energy currently has a consensus target price of $152.23, indicating a potential upside of 13.20%. Murphy Oil has a consensus target price of $33.27, indicating a potential downside of 13.44%. Given Chord Energy’s stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, analysts clearly believe Chord Energy is more favorable than Murphy Oil.

Volatility and Risk

Chord Energy has a beta of 0.66, meaning that its stock price is 34% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Murphy Oil has a beta of 0.59, meaning that its stock price is 41% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Institutional and Insider Ownership

97.8% of Chord Energy shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 78.3% of Murphy Oil shares are owned by institutional investors. 0.8% of Chord Energy shares are owned by company insiders. Comparatively, 5.8% of Murphy Oil shares are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, hedge funds and large money managers believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Summary

Chord Energy beats Murphy Oil on 11 of the 18 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Chord Energy

Chord Energy Corporation operates as an independent exploration and production company in the United States. It acquires, explores, develops, and produces crude oil, natural gas, and natural gas liquids in the Williston Basin. The company sells its products to refiners, marketers, and other purchasers that have access to nearby pipeline and rail facilities. The company was formerly known as Oasis Petroleum Inc. and changed its name to Chord Energy Corporation in July 2022. Chord Energy Corporation was founded in 2007 and is headquartered in Houston, Texas.

About Murphy Oil

Murphy Oil Corporation, together with its subsidiaries, operates as an oil and gas exploration and production company in the United States, Canada, and internationally. It explores for and produces crude oil, natural gas, and natural gas liquids. The company was formerly known as Murphy Corporation and changed its name to Murphy Oil Corporation in 1964. The company was incorporated in 1950 and is headquartered in Houston, Texas.