Critical Contrast: Lightbridge (NASDAQ:LTBR) & Advantage Energy (OTCMKTS:AAVVF)

Lightbridge (NASDAQ:LTBR) and Advantage Energy (OTCMKTS:AAVVF) are both small-cap energy companies, but which is the better investment? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their analyst recommendations, risk, institutional ownership, profitability, earnings, dividends and valuation.

Insider and Institutional Ownership

9.1% of Lightbridge shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 7.9% of Advantage Energy shares are held by institutional investors. 6.5% of Lightbridge shares are held by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, endowments and large money managers believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Analyst Ratings

This is a breakdown of recent ratings and target prices for Lightbridge and Advantage Energy, as provided by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Lightbridge	0	0	0	0	0.00
Advantage Energy	0	0	1	1	3.50

Profitability

This table compares Lightbridge and Advantage Energy’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Lightbridge	N/A	-36.31%	-35.50%
Advantage Energy	-5.68%	-1.84%	-1.03%

Risk and Volatility

Lightbridge has a beta of 1.83, suggesting that its stock price is 83% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Advantage Energy has a beta of 0.95, suggesting that its stock price is 5% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Earnings & Valuation

This table compares Lightbridge and Advantage Energy”s top-line revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Lightbridge	N/A	N/A	-$11.79 million	($0.84)	-15.87
Advantage Energy	$396.54 million	3.90	$15.85 million	($0.13)	-71.15

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

Summary

Advantage Energy beats Lightbridge on 8 of the 13 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Lightbridge

Lightbridge Corporation, together with its subsidiaries, engages in developing nuclear fuel technology. It develops and commercializes metallic nuclear fuels. The company was formerly known as Thorium Power, Ltd. and changed its name to Lightbridge Corporation in September 2009. Lightbridge Corporation is headquartered in Reston, Virginia.

About Advantage Energy

Advantage Energy Ltd., together with its subsidiaries, engages in the acquisition, exploitation, development, and production natural gas, crude oil, and natural gas liquids (NGLs) in the Province of Alberta, Canada. Its assets are located approximately 4 to 80 km northwest of the city of Grande Prairie, Alberta. The company was formerly known as Advantage Oil & Gas Ltd. and changed its name to Advantage Energy Ltd. in May 2021. Advantage Energy Ltd. was founded in 2001 and is headquartered in Calgary, Canada.