Head-To-Head Contrast: Prairie Operating (NASDAQ:PROP) vs. Epsilon Energy (NASDAQ:EPSN)

Prairie Operating (NASDAQ:PROP) and Epsilon Energy (NASDAQ:EPSN) are both small-cap energy companies, but which is the better business? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their valuation, institutional ownership, earnings, profitability, risk, analyst recommendations and dividends.

Profitability

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

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Prairie Operating	N/A	21.04%	2.69%
Epsilon Energy	11.75%	6.71%	5.39%

Analyst Ratings

This is a breakdown of recent recommendations and price targets for Prairie Operating and Epsilon Energy, as provided by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Prairie Operating	0	2	3	0	2.60
Epsilon Energy	0	0	1	1	3.50

Prairie Operating presently has a consensus target price of $8.50, indicating a potential upside of 214.81%. Epsilon Energy has a consensus target price of $7.70, indicating a potential upside of 34.38%. Given Prairie Operating’s higher possible upside, research analysts clearly believe Prairie Operating is more favorable than Epsilon Energy.

Earnings & Valuation

This table compares Prairie Operating and Epsilon Energy”s top-line revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Prairie Operating	$7.94 million	17.10	-$40.91 million	($3.00)	-0.90
Epsilon Energy	$31.52 million	4.01	$1.93 million	$0.24	23.88

Epsilon Energy has higher revenue and earnings than Prairie Operating. Prairie Operating 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

34.3% of Prairie Operating shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 60.3% of Epsilon Energy shares are owned by institutional investors. 15.4% of Prairie Operating shares are owned by company insiders. Comparatively, 7.1% of Epsilon Energy shares are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, hedge funds and endowments believe a company will outperform the market over the long term.

Volatility and Risk

Prairie Operating has a beta of 2.01, suggesting that its share price is 101% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Epsilon Energy has a beta of 0.16, suggesting that its share price is 84% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Summary

Epsilon Energy beats Prairie Operating on 9 of the 15 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Prairie Operating

Prairie Operating Co., an independent energy company, engages in the development, exploration, and production of oil, natural gas, and natural gas liquids in the United States. The company holds assets in the Denver-Julesburg Basin in Colorado; and the Niobrara and Codell formations. Prairie Operating Co. is based 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.