Financial Comparison: Houston American Energy (NYSE:HUSA) and Berry (NASDAQ:BRY)

Berry (NASDAQ:BRYGet Free Report) and Houston American Energy (NYSE:HUSAGet Free Report) are both small-cap oils/energy companies, but which is the better investment? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their analyst recommendations, institutional ownership, dividends, risk, profitability, valuation and earnings.

Insider and Institutional Ownership

94.9% of Berry shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 12.2% of Houston American Energy shares are owned by institutional investors. 1.0% of Berry shares are owned by insiders. Comparatively, 15.4% of Houston American Energy shares are owned by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, large money managers and endowments believe a company will outperform the market over the long term.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a breakdown of current ratings and target prices for Berry and Houston American Energy, as provided by MarketBeat.com.

Sell Ratings Hold Ratings Buy Ratings Strong Buy Ratings Rating Score
Berry 0 1 0 0 2.00
Houston American Energy 0 0 0 0 0.00

Berry currently has a consensus target price of $5.00, indicating a potential upside of 24.07%. Given Berry’s stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, research analysts plainly believe Berry is more favorable than Houston American Energy.

Risk and Volatility

Berry has a beta of 1.67, suggesting that its stock price is 67% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Houston American Energy has a beta of 0.46, suggesting that its stock price is 54% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Valuation and Earnings

This table compares Berry and Houston American Energy”s gross revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

Gross Revenue Price/Sales Ratio Net Income Earnings Per Share Price/Earnings Ratio
Berry $806.73 million 0.38 $37.40 million $1.08 3.73
Houston American Energy $640,348.00 27.59 -$3.21 million ($0.32) -4.22

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

Profitability

This table compares Berry and Houston American Energy’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

Net Margins Return on Equity Return on Assets
Berry 9.40% 6.50% 2.98%
Houston American Energy -544.15% -6.10% -5.86%

Summary

Berry beats Houston American Energy on 11 of the 13 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Berry

(Get Free Report)

Berry Petroleum Company, LLC., formerly Berry Petroleum Company, is an independent energy company. The Company is engaged in the production, development, exploitation, and acquisition of oil and natural gas. The Company’s principal reserves and producing properties are located in California (South Midway-Sunset (SMWSS)-Steam Floods, North Midway-Sunset (NMWSS)-Diatomite, NMWSS-New Steam Floods, Texas (Permian and E. Texas), Utah (Uinta) and Colorado (Piceance). The Company’s operations are conducted in the continental United States. In December 2013, Linn Energy LLC and Linn Co, LLC (Linn Co) announced the completion of the merger between LinnCo and Berry Petroleum Company (Berry), where LinnCo had acquired all of Berry’s interest.

About Houston American Energy

(Get Free Report)

Houston American Energy Corp., an independent oil and gas company, engages in the acquisition, exploration, exploitation, development, and production of natural gas, crude oil, and condensate. Its principal properties are located primarily in the Texas Permian Basin, the South American country of Colombia, and the onshore Louisiana Gulf Coast region. The company is based in Houston, Texas.

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