Inplay Oil Cp (OTCMKTS:IPOOF) & Birchcliff Energy (OTCMKTS:BIREF) Head to Head Review

Inplay Oil Cp (OTCMKTS:IPOOF) and Birchcliff Energy (OTCMKTS:BIREF) are both small-cap energy companies, but which is the better business? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their risk, valuation, profitability, earnings, analyst recommendations, institutional ownership and dividends.

Valuation and Earnings

This table compares Inplay Oil Cp and Birchcliff Energy”s revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Inplay Oil Cp	$210.66 million	0.98	$6.91 million	$0.29	25.53
Birchcliff Energy	$428.33 million	3.25	$40.94 million	$0.35	14.56

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

Dividends

Inplay Oil Cp pays an annual dividend of $0.78 per share and has a dividend yield of 10.5%. Birchcliff Energy pays an annual dividend of $0.09 per share and has a dividend yield of 1.8%. Inplay Oil Cp pays out 269.0% of its earnings in the form of a dividend, suggesting it may not have sufficient earnings to cover its dividend payment in the future. Birchcliff Energy pays out 25.7% of its earnings in the form of a dividend.

Volatility and Risk

Inplay Oil Cp has a beta of 0.89, suggesting that its share price is 11% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Birchcliff Energy has a beta of 0.6, suggesting that its share price is 40% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Profitability

This table compares Inplay Oil Cp and Birchcliff Energy’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Inplay Oil Cp	3.73%	2.45%	1.46%
Birchcliff Energy	21.85%	6.09%	3.97%

Insider and Institutional Ownership

0.8% of Birchcliff Energy shares are owned by institutional investors. 1.5% of Birchcliff Energy shares are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, endowments and large money managers believe a stock will outperform the market over the long term.

Analyst Ratings

This is a breakdown of current recommendations for Inplay Oil Cp and Birchcliff Energy, as provided by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Inplay Oil Cp	0	0	0	2	4.00
Birchcliff Energy	0	0	1	6	3.86

Summary

Birchcliff Energy beats Inplay Oil Cp on 12 of the 16 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Inplay Oil Cp

InPlay Oil Corp. engages in the acquisition, exploration, development, and production of petroleum and natural gas properties in Canada. The company produces and sells crude oil, natural gas, and natural gas liquids. It focuses on light oil asset base located in West Central, Alberta. InPlay Oil Corp. is headquartered in Calgary, Canada.

About Birchcliff Energy

Birchcliff Energy Ltd., an intermediate oil and natural gas company, explores for, develops, and produces natural gas, light oil, condensate, and other natural gas liquids in Western Canada. The company holds interests in the areas of Montney/Doig Resource Play, including the Pouce Coupe and Gordondale properties in Alberta. Birchcliff Energy Ltd. was founded in 2004 and is headquartered in Calgary, Canada.