Contrasting Occidental Petroleum (NYSE:OXY) and Epsilon Energy (NASDAQ:EPSN)

Occidental Petroleum (NYSE:OXY) and Epsilon Energy (NASDAQ:EPSN) are both energy companies, but which is the superior business? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their risk, dividends, profitability, valuation, institutional ownership, earnings and analyst recommendations.

Earnings and Valuation

This table compares Occidental Petroleum and Epsilon Energy”s revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Occidental Petroleum	$26.88 billion	1.58	$3.06 billion	$2.46	17.54
Epsilon Energy	$31.52 million	5.46	$1.93 million	$0.21	37.19

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

Institutional and Insider Ownership

88.7% of Occidental Petroleum shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 60.3% of Epsilon Energy shares are held by institutional investors. 0.3% of Occidental Petroleum shares are held by company insiders. Comparatively, 7.1% of Epsilon Energy shares are held by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, large money managers and endowments believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Profitability

This table compares Occidental Petroleum and Epsilon Energy’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Occidental Petroleum	11.20%	16.60%	5.18%
Epsilon Energy	11.18%	5.97%	4.82%

Analyst Ratings

This is a summary of recent ratings and recommmendations for Occidental Petroleum and Epsilon Energy, as provided by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Occidental Petroleum	2	14	5	0	2.14
Epsilon Energy	0	0	1	1	3.50

Occidental Petroleum presently has a consensus price target of $53.38, indicating a potential upside of 23.70%. Epsilon Energy has a consensus price target of $7.70, indicating a potential downside of 1.41%. Given Occidental Petroleum’s higher probable upside, equities analysts plainly believe Occidental Petroleum is more favorable than Epsilon Energy.

Dividends

Occidental Petroleum pays an annual dividend of $0.96 per share and has a dividend yield of 2.2%. Epsilon Energy pays an annual dividend of $0.25 per share and has a dividend yield of 3.2%. Occidental Petroleum pays out 39.0% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Epsilon Energy pays out 119.0% of its earnings in the form of a dividend, suggesting it may not have sufficient earnings to cover its dividend payment in the future. Occidental Petroleum has increased its dividend for 5 consecutive years.

Volatility & Risk

Occidental Petroleum has a beta of 0.87, suggesting that its share price is 13% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Epsilon Energy has a beta of 0.17, suggesting that its share price is 83% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Summary

Occidental Petroleum beats Epsilon Energy on 12 of the 18 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Occidental Petroleum

Occidental Petroleum Corporation, together with its subsidiaries, engages in the acquisition, exploration, and development of oil and gas properties in the United States, the Middle East, and North Africa. It operates through three segments: Oil and Gas, Chemical, and Midstream and Marketing. The company's Oil and Gas segment explores for, develops, and produces oil and condensate, natural gas liquids (NGLs), and natural gas. Its Chemical segment manufactures and markets basic chemicals, including chlorine, caustic soda, chlorinated organics, potassium chemicals, ethylene dichloride, chlorinated isocyanurates, sodium silicates, and calcium chloride; and vinyls comprising vinyl chloride monomer, polyvinyl chloride, and ethylene. The Midstream and Marketing segment gathers, processes, transports, stores, purchases, and markets oil, condensate, NGLs, natural gas, carbon dioxide, and power. This segment also invests in entities. Occidental Petroleum Corporation was founded in 1920 and is headquartered in Houston, Texas.

About Epsilon Energy

Epsilon Energy Ltd., a North American onshore independent natural gas and oil company, engages in the acquisition, development, gathering, and production of natural oil and gas reserves in the United States. The company operates through Upstream and Gathering System segments. It has natural gas production in the Marcellus Shale in Pennsylvania; and oil, natural gas liquids, and natural gas production in the Permian Basin in Texas and New Mexico, and Anadarko Basin in Oklahoma. Epsilon Energy Ltd. was incorporated in 2005 and is based in Calgary, Canada.