Contrasting Paramount Resources (OTCMKTS:PRMRF) & Baytex Energy (NYSE:BTE)

Paramount Resources (OTCMKTS:PRMRF) and Baytex Energy (NYSE:BTE) are both mid-cap energy companies, but which is the better stock? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their earnings, valuation, risk, institutional ownership, profitability, analyst recommendations and dividends.

Analyst Ratings

This is a summary of current ratings for Paramount Resources and Baytex Energy, as reported by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Paramount Resources	0	2	5	2	3.00
Baytex Energy	1	5	3	1	2.40

Risk and Volatility

Paramount Resources has a beta of 0.64, suggesting that its stock price is 36% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Baytex Energy has a beta of 0.39, suggesting that its stock price is 61% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Insider and Institutional Ownership

4.1% of Paramount Resources shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 46.2% of Baytex Energy shares are owned by institutional investors. 36.3% of Paramount Resources shares are owned by insiders. Comparatively, 0.8% of Baytex Energy shares are owned by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, endowments and large money managers believe a stock will outperform the market over the long term.

Valuation & Earnings

This table compares Paramount Resources and Baytex Energy”s revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Paramount Resources	$692.73 million	4.78	$922.32 million	$0.26	87.77
Baytex Energy	$2.56 billion	1.42	-$432.12 million	($0.70)	-7.10

Paramount Resources has higher earnings, but lower revenue than Baytex Energy. Baytex Energy is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Paramount Resources, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Profitability

This table compares Paramount Resources and Baytex Energy’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Paramount Resources	6.65%	2.00%	1.51%
Baytex Energy	-24.25%	-10.85%	-6.38%

Dividends

Paramount Resources pays an annual dividend of $0.44 per share and has a dividend yield of 1.9%. Baytex Energy pays an annual dividend of $0.07 per share and has a dividend yield of 1.4%. Paramount Resources pays out 169.2% of its earnings in the form of a dividend, suggesting it may not have sufficient earnings to cover its dividend payment in the future. Baytex Energy pays out -10.0% of its earnings in the form of a dividend.

Summary

Paramount Resources beats Baytex Energy on 13 of the 16 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Paramount Resources

Paramount Resources Ltd. explores for and develops conventional and unconventional petroleum and natural gas reserves and resources in Canada. The company holds interests in the Karr and Wapiti Montney properties covering an area of 109,000 net acres located south of the city of Grande Prairie, Alberta; Kaybob North Duvernay development and natural gas producing properties covering an area of 124,000 net acres located in west-central Alberta; and Willesden Green Duvernay development in central Alberta and shale gas producing properties in the Horn River Basin in northeast British Columbia covering an area of 249,000 net acres. The company was founded in 1976 and is based in Calgary, Canada.

About Baytex Energy

Baytex Energy Corp. is an oil & gas exploration and production company. The firm engages in the acquisition, development and production of crude oil and natural gas in the Western Canadian Sedimentary Basin and in the Eagle Ford in the United States. The company was founded on June 3, 1993 and is headquartered in Calgary, Canada.