Head-To-Head Comparison: Matador Resources (NYSE:MTDR) vs. Inpex (OTCMKTS:IPXHY)

Matador Resources (NYSE:MTDR) and Inpex (OTCMKTS:IPXHY) are both energy companies, but which is the superior business? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their valuation, risk, analyst recommendations, earnings, dividends, profitability and institutional ownership.

Risk & Volatility

Matador Resources has a beta of 0.93, meaning that its share price is 7% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Inpex has a beta of 0.2, meaning that its share price is 80% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Profitability

This table compares Matador Resources and Inpex’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Matador Resources	18.60%	14.32%	6.76%
Inpex	21.93%	8.53%	5.51%

Dividends

Matador Resources pays an annual dividend of $1.50 per share and has a dividend yield of 3.0%. Inpex pays an annual dividend of $0.42 per share and has a dividend yield of 1.9%. Matador Resources pays out 25.9% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Inpex pays out 17.6% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Both companies have healthy payout ratios and should be able to cover their dividend payments with earnings for the next several years. Matador Resources has raised its dividend for 4 consecutive years. Matador Resources is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and longer track record of dividend growth.

Valuation and Earnings

This table compares Matador Resources and Inpex”s gross revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Matador Resources	$3.70 billion	1.68	$759.22 million	$5.80	8.67
Inpex	$13.45 billion	1.96	$2.52 billion	$2.38	9.34

Inpex has higher revenue and earnings than Matador Resources. Matador Resources is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Inpex, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a breakdown of recent ratings for Matador Resources and Inpex, as provided by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Matador Resources	0	5	11	0	2.69
Inpex	0	3	0	0	2.00

Matador Resources currently has a consensus price target of $68.50, indicating a potential upside of 36.17%. Given Matador Resources’ stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, research analysts clearly believe Matador Resources is more favorable than Inpex.

Institutional & Insider Ownership

92.0% of Matador Resources shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 0.0% of Inpex shares are owned by institutional investors. 5.9% of Matador Resources shares are owned by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, endowments and hedge funds believe a stock will outperform the market over the long term.

Summary

Matador Resources beats Inpex on 11 of the 17 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Matador Resources

Matador Resources Company is an independent energy company engaged in the exploration, development, production and acquisition of oil and natural gas. Its operations are focused primarily on the Delaware Basin in southeastern New Mexico and West Texas. Alongside its exploration and production business, Matador provides midstream services through its subsidiary San Mateo Midstream. These activities include gathering and processing natural gas and handling produced water, supporting the company’s operations and serving other producers in the region.

About Inpex

INPEX Corporation is a Japanese energy company focused on the exploration, development, production and sale of oil and natural gas. Its activities span the energy project lifecycle, from resource exploration and field development to the production and marketing of energy products. The company operates in Japan and internationally, with projects and business interests in regions including Australia, Indonesia and the Middle East. A major project is the Ichthys LNG project in Australia, which produces liquefied natural gas, condensate and liquefied petroleum gas for domestic and overseas markets.