Murphy Oil (NYSE:MUR) & ERHC Energy (OTCMKTS:ERHE) Critical Comparison

Murphy Oil (NYSE:MUR) and ERHC Energy (OTCMKTS:ERHE) are both energy companies, but which is the better business? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their dividends, valuation, analyst recommendations, institutional ownership, risk, profitability and earnings.

Volatility and Risk

Murphy Oil has a beta of 0.78, meaning that its share price is 22% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, ERHC Energy has a beta of -5.3, meaning that its share price is 630% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Analyst Ratings

This is a summary of current ratings for Murphy Oil and ERHC Energy, as reported by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Murphy Oil	3	13	0	0	1.81
ERHC Energy	0	0	0	0	0.00

Murphy Oil currently has a consensus price target of $29.54, indicating a potential downside of 4.19%. Given Murphy Oil’s stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, equities analysts plainly believe Murphy Oil is more favorable than ERHC Energy.

Institutional & Insider Ownership

78.3% of Murphy Oil shares are owned by institutional investors. 6.5% of Murphy Oil shares are owned by company insiders. Comparatively, 4.9% of ERHC Energy shares are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, large money managers and hedge funds believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.

Valuation and Earnings

This table compares Murphy Oil and ERHC Energy”s top-line revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Murphy Oil	$3.03 billion	1.45	$407.17 million	$0.98	31.46
ERHC Energy	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A

Murphy Oil has higher revenue and earnings than ERHC Energy.

Profitability

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

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Murphy Oil	5.16%	4.30%	2.34%
ERHC Energy	N/A	N/A	N/A

Summary

Murphy Oil beats ERHC Energy on 9 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 ERHC Energy

ERHC Energy Inc. engages in the exploration and exploitation of oil and gas resources in Africa. Its principal assets include the rights to working interests in exploration acreage in the Republic of Kenya; the Republic of Chad; the Joint Development Zone between the Democratic Republic of Sao Tome and Principe; the Federal Republic of Nigeria; and the economic zone of Sao Tome. The company was founded in 1986 and is based in Houston, Texas.