Head-To-Head Comparison: Greenfire Resources (NYSE:GFR) and Mexco Energy (NYSE:MXC)

Mexco Energy (NYSE:MXC) and Greenfire Resources (NYSE:GFR) are both small-cap oils/energy companies, but which is the better stock? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their valuation, profitability, dividends, analyst recommendations, risk, earnings and institutional ownership.

Institutional & Insider Ownership

5.9% of Mexco Energy shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 88.9% of Greenfire Resources shares are owned by institutional investors. 53.0% of Mexco Energy shares are owned by company insiders. Comparatively, 20.0% of Greenfire Resources shares are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, endowments and hedge funds believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Valuation and Earnings

This table compares Mexco Energy and Greenfire Resources”s top-line revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Mexco Energy	$6.93 million	3.77	$1.35 million	$0.57	22.42
Greenfire Resources	$775.81 million	0.63	-$100.50 million	$0.35	20.14

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

Profitability

This table compares Mexco Energy and Greenfire Resources’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Mexco Energy	17.59%	6.94%	6.37%
Greenfire Resources	5.02%	5.40%	3.13%

Analyst Ratings

This is a breakdown of current ratings for Mexco Energy and Greenfire Resources, as reported by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Mexco Energy	0	0	0	0	0.00
Greenfire Resources	0	0	1	0	3.00

Greenfire Resources has a consensus price target of $10.50, indicating a potential upside of 48.94%. Given Greenfire Resources’ stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, analysts plainly believe Greenfire Resources is more favorable than Mexco Energy.

Volatility & Risk

Mexco Energy has a beta of 0.56, indicating that its share price is 44% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Greenfire Resources has a beta of 0.3, indicating that its share price is 70% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Summary

Mexco Energy beats Greenfire Resources on 9 of the 14 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Mexco Energy

Mexco Energy Corporation, an independent oil and gas company, engages in the acquisition, exploration, development, and production of natural gas, crude oil, condensate, and natural gas liquids in the United States. It owns partial interests in approximately 6,400 gross producing wells located in the states of Texas, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Louisiana, Alabama, Mississippi, Arkansas, Wyoming, Kansas, Colorado, Montana, Virginia, North Dakota, and Ohio. It also owned leasehold mineral, royalty, and other interests in approximately 2,768 net acres. The company was formerly known as Miller Oil Company and changed its name to Mexco Energy Corporation in April 1980. Mexco Energy Corporation was incorporated in 1972 and is based in Midland, Texas.

About Greenfire Resources

Greenfire Resources Ltd., together with its subsidiaries, engages in the development, exploration, and operation of oil and gas properties in the Athabasca oil sands region of Alberta. The company operates the Tier-1 oil sands assets located in Western Canada. It utilizes steam-assisted gravity drainage (SAGD) extraction technology, a situ thermal oil recovery process to recover diluted and non- diluted bitumen. The company is headquartered in Calgary, Canada.