Reviewing Riley Exploration Permian (NYSE:REPX) and Forest Oil (OTCMKTS:SOGCQ)

Forest Oil (OTCMKTS:SOGCQ) and Riley Exploration Permian (NYSE:REPX) are both small-cap mining companies, but which is the superior business? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their institutional ownership, dividends, risk, earnings, analyst recommendations, valuation and profitability.

Analyst Ratings

This is a breakdown of recent recommendations for Forest Oil and Riley Exploration Permian, as reported by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Forest Oil	0	0	0	0	0.00
Riley Exploration Permian	0	0	1	0	3.00

Riley Exploration Permian has a consensus target price of $45.00, indicating a potential upside of 41.55%. Given Riley Exploration Permian’s stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, analysts clearly believe Riley Exploration Permian is more favorable than Forest Oil.

Institutional and Insider Ownership

58.9% of Riley Exploration Permian shares are owned by institutional investors. 3.9% of Riley Exploration Permian shares are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, hedge funds and large money managers believe a stock will outperform the market over the long term.

Profitability

This table compares Forest Oil and Riley Exploration Permian’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Forest Oil	N/A	N/A	N/A
Riley Exploration Permian	28.48%	23.82%	11.31%

Earnings and Valuation

This table compares Forest Oil and Riley Exploration Permian”s gross revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Forest Oil	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A
Riley Exploration Permian	$407.32 million	1.68	$111.59 million	$5.64	5.64

Riley Exploration Permian has higher revenue and earnings than Forest Oil.

Summary

Riley Exploration Permian beats Forest Oil on 9 of the 9 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Forest Oil

Sabine Oil & Gas Corporation, formerly Forest Oil Corporation, is an oil and natural gas company. The Company is engaged in the acquisition, development, exploitation and exploration of oil and natural gas properties in North America. The Company operates through the oil and gas exploration and production segment. Its properties are primarily focused in three geographic areas: East Texas, targeting the Cotton Valley Sand, Haynesville Shale and Pettet formations; South Texas, targeting the Eagle Ford Shale formation, and North Texas, targeting the Granite Wash formation. Its East Texas portion of properties is characterized by various productive horizons, such as the Cotton Valley Sand, Haynesville Shale, Haynesville Lime, Pettet, Bossier Shale, Travis Peak and other formations. It holds interests in approximately 272,100 gross (217,000 net) acres in East Texas, over 82,900 gross (53,400 net) acres in South Texas and approximately 33,900 gross (25,300 net) acres in North Texas.

About Riley Exploration Permian

Riley Exploration Permian, Inc., an independent oil and natural gas company, engages in the acquisition, exploration, development, and production of oil, natural gas, and natural gas liquids in Texas and New Mexico. The company's activities are primarily focused on the Northwest Shelf and Yeso trend of the Permian Basin. Its acreage is primarily located on contiguous blocks in Yoakum County, Texas; and Eddy County, New Mexico. Riley Exploration Permian, Inc. is headquartered in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma.