Contrasting SM Energy (NYSE:SM) and ECA Marcellus Trust I (OTCMKTS:ECT)

SM Energy (NYSE:SM) and ECA Marcellus Trust I (OTCMKTS:ECT) are both oils/energy companies, but which is the better business? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their valuation, analyst recommendations, dividends, profitability, risk, institutional ownership and earnings.

Analyst Ratings

This is a summary of current recommendations and price targets for SM Energy and ECA Marcellus Trust I, as provided by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
SM Energy	0	6	5	1	2.58
ECA Marcellus Trust I	0	0	0	0	0.00

SM Energy currently has a consensus target price of $51.90, suggesting a potential upside of 38.90%. Given SM Energy’s stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, equities research analysts plainly believe SM Energy is more favorable than ECA Marcellus Trust I.

Profitability

This table compares SM Energy and ECA Marcellus Trust I’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
SM Energy	33.89%	19.62%	10.87%
ECA Marcellus Trust I	46.53%	4.37%	4.32%

Risk & Volatility

SM Energy has a beta of 4.11, indicating that its stock price is 311% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, ECA Marcellus Trust I has a beta of 2, indicating that its stock price is 100% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Valuation and Earnings

This table compares SM Energy and ECA Marcellus Trust I”s gross revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
SM Energy	$2.37 billion	1.80	$817.88 million	$7.16	5.22
ECA Marcellus Trust I	$4.15 million	1.70	$2.90 million	N/A	N/A

SM Energy has higher revenue and earnings than ECA Marcellus Trust I.

Insider and Institutional Ownership

94.6% of SM Energy shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 2.0% of ECA Marcellus Trust I shares are held by institutional investors. 1.5% of SM Energy shares are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, endowments and hedge funds believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Summary

SM Energy beats ECA Marcellus Trust I on 13 of the 14 factors compared between the two stocks.

About SM Energy

SM Energy Company, an independent energy company, engages in the acquisition, exploration, development, and production of oil, gas, and natural gas liquids in the state of Texas. It has working interests in oil and gas producing wells in the Midland Basin and South Texas. The company was formerly known as St. Mary Land & Exploration Company and changed its name to SM Energy Company in May 2010. SM Energy Company was founded in 1908 and is headquartered in Denver, Colorado.

About ECA Marcellus Trust I

ECA Marcellus Trust I is a statutory trust. It owns royalty interest in producing wells and development wells. It also acquires horizontal natural gas development wells to be drilled to the Marcellus Shale formation. The company was founded in March 2010 and is headquartered in Houston, TX.