Financial Review: ATP Oil & Gas (OTCMKTS:ATPAQ) and Gran Tierra Energy (NYSE:GTE)

ATP Oil & Gas (OTCMKTS:ATPAQ) and Gran Tierra Energy (NYSE:GTE) are both basic materials companies, but which is the superior investment? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their profitability, institutional ownership, dividends, risk, analyst recommendations, earnings and valuation.

Profitability

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

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

Analyst Recommendations

This is a summary of current ratings and price targets for ATP Oil & Gas and Gran Tierra Energy, as provided by MarketBeat.com.

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

Given ATP Oil & Gas’ higher possible upside, equities analysts clearly believe ATP Oil & Gas is more favorable than Gran Tierra Energy.

Institutional & Insider Ownership

31.7% of Gran Tierra Energy shares are held by institutional investors. 6.5% of Gran Tierra Energy shares are held 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.

Valuation and Earnings

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

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
ATP Oil & Gas	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A
Gran Tierra Energy	$614.07 million	0.25	-$6.29 million	($2.51)	-1.74

ATP Oil & Gas has higher earnings, but lower revenue than Gran Tierra Energy.

Summary

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

About ATP Oil & Gas

ATP Oil & Gas Corporation is engaged in the acquisition, development and production of oil and natural gas properties. As of December 31, 2011, the Company had estimated net proved reserves of 118.9 Million barrels of crude oil equivalent (MMBoe), of which approximately 75.9 MMboe (64%) were in the Gulf of Mexico and 42.9 MMBoe (36%) were in the North Sea. The reserves consisted of 78.6 Million barrels (MMBbls) of oil (66%) and 241.5 billion cubic feet (Bcf) of natural gas (34%). Its proved reserves in the deepwater area of the Gulf of Mexico account for 62% of the Company’s total proved reserves and its proved reserves on the Gulf of Mexico Outer Continental Shelf account for 2% of its total proved reserves. During the year ended December 31, 2011, it acquired three licenses in the Mediterranean Sea covering potential natural gas resources in the deepwater off the coast of Israel (East Mediterranean). On August 17, 2012, ATP Oil And Gas Corp filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection.

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.