Financial Survey: Forest Oil (OTCMKTS:SOGCQ) and Comstock Resources (NYSE:CRK)

Comstock Resources (NYSE:CRK) and Forest Oil (OTCMKTS:SOGCQ) are both oils/energy companies, but which is the superior investment? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their dividends, risk, analyst recommendations, earnings, valuation, profitability and institutional ownership.

Profitability

This table compares Comstock Resources and Forest Oil’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Comstock Resources	-1.48%	-1.38%	-0.53%
Forest Oil	N/A	N/A	N/A

Earnings & Valuation

This table compares Comstock Resources and Forest Oil”s top-line revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Comstock Resources	$1.37 billion	2.47	$211.12 million	$0.22	52.66
Forest Oil	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A

Comstock Resources has higher revenue and earnings than Forest Oil.

Institutional & Insider Ownership

36.1% of Comstock Resources shares are held by institutional investors. 1.5% of Comstock Resources shares are held by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, large money managers and endowments believe a stock will outperform the market over the long term.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a breakdown of current ratings and recommmendations for Comstock Resources and Forest Oil, as reported by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Comstock Resources	4	7	1	0	1.75
Forest Oil	0	0	0	0	N/A

Comstock Resources currently has a consensus target price of $9.79, suggesting a potential downside of 15.53%. Given Comstock Resources’ higher possible upside, equities research analysts clearly believe Comstock Resources is more favorable than Forest Oil.

Summary

Comstock Resources beats Forest Oil on 5 of the 8 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Comstock Resources

Comstock Resources, Inc., an independent energy company, engages in the acquisition, exploration, development, and production of natural gas and oil properties in the United States. Its assets are located in the Haynesville and Bossier shales located in North Louisiana and East Texas. The company was incorporated in 1919 and is headquartered in Frisco, Texas. Comstock Resources, Inc. is a subsidiary of Arkoma Drilling, L.P.

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.