Critical Analysis: Riverdale Oil and Gas (OTCMKTS:RVDO) & Gran Tierra Energy (NYSE:GTE)

Riverdale Oil and Gas (OTCMKTS:RVDO) and Gran Tierra Energy (NYSE:GTE) are both small-cap energy companies, but which is the superior stock? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their institutional ownership, profitability, dividends, valuation, earnings, risk and analyst recommendations.

Insider and Institutional Ownership

31.7% of Gran Tierra Energy shares are owned by institutional investors. 28.1% of Riverdale Oil and Gas shares are owned by insiders. Comparatively, 6.5% of Gran Tierra Energy shares are owned by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, endowments and hedge funds believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a breakdown of current recommendations for Riverdale Oil and Gas and Gran Tierra Energy, as provided by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Riverdale Oil and Gas	0	0	0	0	0.00
Gran Tierra Energy	0	1	1	0	2.50

Risk & Volatility

Riverdale Oil and Gas has a beta of -8.49, suggesting that its share price is 949% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Gran Tierra Energy has a beta of 0.79, suggesting that its share price is 21% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Valuation & Earnings

This table compares Riverdale Oil and Gas and Gran Tierra Energy”s revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Riverdale Oil and Gas	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A
Gran Tierra Energy	$621.68 million	0.24	-$6.29 million	($1.90)	-2.24

Riverdale Oil and Gas has higher earnings, but lower revenue than Gran Tierra Energy.

Profitability

This table compares Riverdale Oil and Gas and Gran Tierra Energy’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Riverdale Oil and Gas	N/A	N/A	N/A
Gran Tierra Energy	7.17%	11.36%	3.28%

Summary

Gran Tierra Energy beats Riverdale Oil and Gas on 8 of the 9 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Riverdale Oil and Gas

Riverdale Oil and Gas Corporation produces oil and gas in the United States. The company was founded in 2005 and is headquartered in Austin, Texas.

About Gran Tierra Energy

Gran Tierra Energy Inc., together with its subsidiaries, engages in the exploration and production of oil and gas properties in Colombia and Ecuador. The company was founded in 2003 and is headquartered in Calgary, Canada.