Head-To-Head Review: W&T Offshore (NYSE:WTI) and Obsidian Energy (OTCMKTS:OBELF)

W&T Offshore (NYSE:WTI) and Obsidian Energy (OTCMKTS:OBELF) are both small-cap oils/energy companies, but which is the better stock? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their profitability, institutional ownership, valuation, earnings, dividends, analyst recommendations and risk.

Analyst Ratings

This is a summary of current recommendations and price targets for W&T Offshore and Obsidian Energy, as provided by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
W&T Offshore	0	0	1	0	3.00
Obsidian Energy	0	0	0	0	N/A

W&T Offshore presently has a consensus price target of $7.80, suggesting a potential upside of 231.91%. Given W&T Offshore’s higher probable upside, research analysts clearly believe W&T Offshore is more favorable than Obsidian Energy.

Valuation & Earnings

This table compares W&T Offshore and Obsidian Energy’s gross revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
W&T Offshore	$532.66 million	0.65	$15.60 million	$0.10	23.50
Obsidian Energy	$220.00 million	2.61	-$576.07 million	$4.17	1.70

W&T Offshore has higher revenue and earnings than Obsidian Energy. Obsidian Energy is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than W&T Offshore, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Insider & Institutional Ownership

42.9% of W&T Offshore shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 0.0% of Obsidian Energy shares are held by institutional investors. 33.5% of W&T Offshore shares are held by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, hedge funds and large money managers believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.

Risk & Volatility

W&T Offshore has a beta of 1.52, indicating that its share price is 52% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Obsidian Energy has a beta of 2.47, indicating that its share price is 147% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Profitability

This table compares W&T Offshore and Obsidian Energy’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
W&T Offshore	2.93%	-71.70%	-1.95%
Obsidian Energy	99.13%	78.07%	35.32%

Summary

W&T Offshore beats Obsidian Energy on 7 of the 13 factors compared between the two stocks.

About W&T Offshore

W&T Offshore, Inc., an independent oil and natural gas producer, engages in the acquisition, exploration, and development of oil and natural gas properties in the Gulf of Mexico. The company sells crude oil and condensate, natural gas liquids, and natural gas. W&T Offshore, Inc. was founded in 1983 and is headquartered in Houston, Texas.

About Obsidian Energy

Obsidian Energy Ltd. is an exploration and production company. The firm engages in exploring, developing, and holds interests in oil and natural gas properties and related production infrastructure in the Western Canada Sedimentary Basin directly and through investments in securities of subsidiaries holding such interests. Its property portfolio includes Cardium, Viking, and Peace River. The company was founded on December 27, 1979 and is headquartered in Calgary, Canada.