Head-To-Head Comparison: Granite Ridge Resources (NYSE:GRNT) versus VAALCO Energy (NYSE:EGY)

Granite Ridge Resources (NYSE:GRNT) and VAALCO Energy (NYSE:EGY) are both small-cap oils/energy companies, but which is the superior stock? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their earnings, valuation, analyst recommendations, risk, dividends, institutional ownership and profitability.

Dividends

Granite Ridge Resources pays an annual dividend of $0.44 per share and has a dividend yield of 6.5%. VAALCO Energy pays an annual dividend of $0.25 per share and has a dividend yield of 5.5%. Granite Ridge Resources pays out 122.2% of its earnings in the form of a dividend, suggesting it may not have sufficient earnings to cover its dividend payment in the future. VAALCO Energy pays out 29.4% of its earnings in the form of a dividend.

Insider & Institutional Ownership

31.6% of Granite Ridge Resources shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 50.3% of VAALCO Energy shares are held by institutional investors. 1.9% of Granite Ridge Resources shares are held by company insiders. Comparatively, 1.3% of VAALCO Energy shares are held by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, endowments and hedge funds believe a company will outperform the market over the long term.

Risk & Volatility

Granite Ridge Resources has a beta of 0.22, indicating that its stock price is 78% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, VAALCO Energy has a beta of 1.19, indicating that its stock price is 19% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Analyst Ratings

This is a summary of current ratings and recommmendations for Granite Ridge Resources and VAALCO Energy, as provided by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Granite Ridge Resources	0	2	1	1	2.75
VAALCO Energy	0	0	1	0	3.00

Granite Ridge Resources currently has a consensus price target of $7.60, suggesting a potential upside of 12.68%. VAALCO Energy has a consensus price target of $8.00, suggesting a potential upside of 76.02%. Given VAALCO Energy’s stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, analysts plainly believe VAALCO Energy is more favorable than Granite Ridge Resources.

Earnings and Valuation

This table compares Granite Ridge Resources and VAALCO Energy”s revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Granite Ridge Resources	$394.07 million	2.24	$81.10 million	$0.36	18.74
VAALCO Energy	$455.07 million	1.05	$60.35 million	$0.85	5.35

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

Profitability

This table compares Granite Ridge Resources and VAALCO Energy’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Granite Ridge Resources	12.59%	11.58%	7.89%
VAALCO Energy	17.93%	15.63%	8.72%

Summary

VAALCO Energy beats Granite Ridge Resources on 10 of the 16 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Granite Ridge Resources

Granite Ridge Resources, Inc. operates as a non-operated oil and gas exploration and production company. It owns a portfolio of wells and acreage across the Permian and other unconventional basins in the United States. Granite Ridge Resources, Inc. is based in Dallas, Texas.

About VAALCO Energy

VAALCO Energy, Inc., an independent energy company, engages in the acquisition, exploration, development, and production of crude oil, natural gas, and natural gas liquids in Gabon, Egypt, Equatorial Guinea, and Canada. The company holds 58.8% interest in the Etame production sharing contract related to the Etame Marin block covering an area of approximately 46,200 gross acres located offshore in the Republic of Gabon in West Africa. It also owns 100% interest in the Eastern Desert, which contains West Gharib, West Bakr and North West Gharib merged concessions covering as area of approximately 45,067 acres, as well as Western Desert, which contains the South Ghazalat concession covering as area of approximately 7,340 acres located in Egypt. In addition, the company production and working interests in Cardium light oil and Mannville liquids-rich gas assets covering as area of 47,400 gross acres located near the north of Calgary, Alberta; and an undeveloped block offshore Equatorial Guinea, West Africa. VAALCO Energy, Inc. was incorporated in 1985 and is headquartered in Houston, Texas.