Financial Review: GSV (OTCMKTS:GSVI) and Vermilion Energy (NYSE:VET)

GSV (OTCMKTS:GSVI) and Vermilion Energy (NYSE:VET) are both retail/wholesale companies, but which is the better investment? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their institutional ownership, valuation, risk, dividends, analyst recommendations, earnings and profitability.

Institutional & Insider Ownership

31.9% of Vermilion Energy shares are held by institutional investors. 28.7% of GSV shares are held by company insiders. Comparatively, 2.6% of Vermilion Energy shares are held by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, large money managers and hedge funds believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Risk and Volatility

GSV has a beta of -210.63, suggesting that its share price is 21,163% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Vermilion Energy has a beta of 1.43, suggesting that its share price is 43% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Profitability

This table compares GSV and Vermilion Energy’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
GSV	N/A	N/A	N/A
Vermilion Energy	-41.53%	6.29%	2.97%

Valuation and Earnings

This table compares GSV and Vermilion Energy”s revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
GSV	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A
Vermilion Energy	$2.07 billion	0.47	-$176.01 million	($0.22)	-28.73

GSV has higher earnings, but lower revenue than Vermilion Energy.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a breakdown of current ratings and price targets for GSV and Vermilion Energy, as reported by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
GSV	0	0	0	0	0.00
Vermilion Energy	0	3	1	0	2.25

Given GSV’s higher possible upside, research analysts plainly believe GSV is more favorable than Vermilion Energy.

Summary

Vermilion Energy beats GSV on 7 of the 10 factors compared between the two stocks.

About GSV

GSV, Inc. is an oil and gas exploration company. It operates oil and gas wells in Louisiana; and oil and gas prospects in Texas. The company was founded in 1994 and is based in Westport, Connecticut.

About Vermilion Energy

Vermilion Energy Inc., together with its subsidiaries, engages in the acquisition, exploration, development, and production of petroleum and natural gas. The company has properties in West Central Alberta, southeast Saskatchewan, Manitoba, and West Pembina in Canada; Wyoming in the United States; southwest Bordeaux and Paris Basin in France; the Netherlands; Germany; Ireland; Croatia; Slovakia; and Australia. The company was founded in 1994 and is headquartered in Calgary, Canada.