Head to Head Contrast: LandBridge (NYSE:LB) and Prairie Operating (NASDAQ:PROP)

LandBridge (NYSE:LB) and Prairie Operating (NASDAQ:PROP) are both energy companies, but which is the superior business? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their valuation, earnings, dividends, risk, profitability, analyst recommendations and institutional ownership.

Analyst Ratings

This is a breakdown of current ratings and price targets for LandBridge and Prairie Operating, as reported by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
LandBridge	1	3	4	0	2.38
Prairie Operating	0	2	3	0	2.60

LandBridge presently has a consensus target price of $62.29, indicating a potential upside of 14.82%. Prairie Operating has a consensus target price of $8.50, indicating a potential upside of 284.62%. Given Prairie Operating’s stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, analysts plainly believe Prairie Operating is more favorable than LandBridge.

Profitability

This table compares LandBridge and Prairie Operating’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
LandBridge	12.19%	5.63%	3.46%
Prairie Operating	N/A	21.04%	2.69%

Institutional and Insider Ownership

34.3% of Prairie Operating shares are held by institutional investors. 70.4% of LandBridge shares are held by company insiders. Comparatively, 15.4% of Prairie Operating shares are held by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, endowments and hedge funds believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.

Earnings & Valuation

This table compares LandBridge and Prairie Operating”s gross revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
LandBridge	$109.95 million	37.77	-$41.77 million	$3.56	15.24
Prairie Operating	$7.94 million	13.99	-$40.91 million	($3.00)	-0.74

Prairie Operating has lower revenue, but higher earnings than LandBridge. Prairie Operating is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than LandBridge, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Volatility & Risk

LandBridge has a beta of 0.25, meaning that its stock price is 75% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Prairie Operating has a beta of 2.15, meaning that its stock price is 115% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Summary

LandBridge beats Prairie Operating on 8 of the 14 factors compared between the two stocks.

About LandBridge

LandBridge Company LLC owns and manages land and resources to support and enhance oil and natural gas development in the United States. It owns surface acres in and around the Delaware Basin in Texas and New Mexico. The company holds a portfolio of oil and gas royalties. It also sells brackish water and other surface composite materials. The company was founded in 2021 and is based in Houston, Texas. LandBridge Company LLC operates as a subsidiary of LandBridge Holdings LLC.

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.