Reviewing Amplify Energy (NYSE:AMPY) and Prairie Operating (NASDAQ:PROP)
by Sarita Garza · The Markets DailyPrairie Operating (NASDAQ:PROP – Get Free Report) and Amplify Energy (NYSE:AMPY – Get Free Report) 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 dividends, earnings, profitability, institutional ownership, risk, valuation and analyst recommendations.
Insider and Institutional Ownership
34.3% of Prairie Operating shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 42.8% of Amplify Energy shares are held by institutional investors. 42.0% of Prairie Operating shares are held by company insiders. Comparatively, 2.0% of Amplify Energy shares are held by company 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.
Volatility & Risk
Prairie Operating has a beta of 1.91, indicating that its stock price is 91% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Amplify Energy has a beta of 1.95, indicating that its stock price is 95% more volatile than the S&P 500.
Analyst Recommendations
This is a breakdown of recent ratings and target prices for Prairie Operating and Amplify Energy, as reported by MarketBeat.com.
| Sell Ratings | Hold Ratings | Buy Ratings | Strong Buy Ratings | Rating Score | |
| Prairie Operating | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | N/A |
| Amplify Energy | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 3.00 |
Amplify Energy has a consensus target price of $10.00, indicating a potential upside of 56.01%. Given Amplify Energy’s higher probable upside, analysts clearly believe Amplify Energy is more favorable than Prairie Operating.
Valuation and Earnings
This table compares Prairie Operating and Amplify Energy”s gross revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.
| Gross Revenue | Price/Sales Ratio | Net Income | Earnings Per Share | Price/Earnings Ratio | |
| Prairie Operating | $1.55 million | 69.08 | -$79.08 million | N/A | N/A |
| Amplify Energy | $311.56 million | 0.81 | $392.75 million | $0.73 | 8.78 |
Amplify Energy has higher revenue and earnings than Prairie Operating.
Profitability
This table compares Prairie Operating and Amplify Energy’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.
| Net Margins | Return on Equity | Return on Assets | |
| Prairie Operating | N/A | -377.86% | -103.26% |
| Amplify Energy | 8.95% | 7.40% | 3.86% |
Summary
Amplify Energy beats Prairie Operating on 9 of the 11 factors compared between the two stocks.
About Prairie Operating
Prairie Operating Co., an independent energy company, engages in the development, exploration, and production of oil, natural gas, and natural gas liquids in the United States. The company holds assets in the Denver-Julesburg Basin in Colorado; and the Niobrara and Codell formations. Prairie Operating Co. is based in Houston Texas.
About Amplify Energy
Amplify Energy Corp., together with its subsidiaries, engages in the acquisition, development, exploitation, and production of oil and natural gas properties in the United States. The company’s properties consist of operated and non-operated working interests in producing and undeveloped leasehold acreage, as well as working interests in identified producing wells located in Oklahoma, the Rockies, federal waters offshore Southern California, East Texas/North Louisiana, and Eagle Ford. The company is based in Houston, Texas.