Reviewing Murphy Oil (NYSE:MUR) and Erin Energy (OTCMKTS:ERINQ)

Murphy Oil (NYSE:MUR) and Erin Energy (OTCMKTS:ERINQ) are both energy companies, but which is the superior stock? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their earnings, dividends, profitability, analyst recommendations, valuation, risk and institutional ownership.

Institutional & Insider Ownership

78.3% of Murphy Oil shares are held by institutional investors. 6.5% of Murphy Oil shares are held by insiders. Comparatively, 62.5% of Erin 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.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a summary of recent recommendations and price targets for Murphy Oil and Erin Energy, as provided by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Murphy Oil	3	11	1	0	1.87
Erin Energy	0	0	0	0	0.00

Murphy Oil currently has a consensus price target of $27.58, indicating a potential downside of 6.84%. Given Erin Energy’s higher possible upside, analysts clearly believe Erin Energy is more favorable than Murphy Oil.

Profitability

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

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Murphy Oil	10.20%	5.25%	2.88%
Erin Energy	N/A	N/A	N/A

Earnings and Valuation

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

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Murphy Oil	$3.03 billion	1.40	$407.17 million	$1.93	15.34
Erin Energy	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A

Murphy Oil has higher revenue and earnings than Erin Energy.

Summary

Murphy Oil beats Erin Energy on 7 of the 9 factors compared between the two stocks.

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.

About Erin Energy

Erin Energy Corporation, an independent exploration and production company, engages in the acquisition and development of energy resources in Africa. Its asset portfolio consists of five licenses covering an area of approximately 6,000 square kilometers across offshore Nigeria, offshore Ghana, and offshore The Gambia. The company was formerly known as CAMAC Energy Inc. and changed its name to Erin Energy Corporation in April 2015. The company was founded in 2005 and is headquartered in Houston, Texas. Erin Energy Corporation is a subsidiary of CAMAC Energy Holdings Limited. On July 13, 2018, the voluntary petition of Erin Energy Corporation for reorganization under Chapter 11 was converted to Chapter 7. It had filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy on April 25, 2018.