Chord Energy (NASDAQ:CHRD – Get Free Report) and SM Energy (NYSE:SM – Get Free Report) are both mid-cap energy companies, but which is the superior stock? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their institutional ownership, analyst recommendations, profitability, risk, earnings, dividends and valuation.
Volatility & Risk
Chord Energy has a beta of 0.97, meaning that its share price is 3% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, SM Energy has a beta of 2.46, meaning that its share price is 146% more volatile than the S&P 500.
Valuation and Earnings
This table compares Chord Energy and SM Energy”s top-line revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.
| Gross Revenue | Price/Sales Ratio | Net Income | Earnings Per Share | Price/Earnings Ratio | |
| Chord Energy | $5.25 billion | 1.09 | $848.63 million | $3.93 | 25.54 |
| SM Energy | $2.69 billion | 1.10 | $770.29 million | $7.08 | 3.63 |
Chord Energy has higher revenue and earnings than SM Energy. SM Energy is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Chord Energy, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.
Profitability
This table compares Chord Energy and SM Energy’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.
| Net Margins | Return on Equity | Return on Assets | |
| Chord Energy | 5.02% | 9.02% | 5.97% |
| SM Energy | 25.94% | 18.06% | 9.08% |
Institutional & Insider Ownership
97.8% of Chord Energy shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 94.6% of SM Energy shares are owned by institutional investors. 0.7% of Chord Energy shares are owned by insiders. Comparatively, 1.5% of SM Energy shares are owned by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, hedge funds and large money managers believe a company is poised for long-term growth.
Dividends
Chord Energy pays an annual dividend of $5.20 per share and has a dividend yield of 5.2%. SM Energy pays an annual dividend of $0.80 per share and has a dividend yield of 3.1%. Chord Energy pays out 132.3% of its earnings in the form of a dividend, suggesting it may not have sufficient earnings to cover its dividend payment in the future. SM Energy pays out 11.3% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Chord Energy has raised its dividend for 1 consecutive years and SM Energy has raised its dividend for 4 consecutive years.
Analyst Recommendations
This is a breakdown of recent ratings and target prices for Chord Energy and SM Energy, as reported by MarketBeat.com.
| Sell Ratings | Hold Ratings | Buy Ratings | Strong Buy Ratings | Rating Score | |
| Chord Energy | 1 | 1 | 10 | 1 | 2.85 |
| SM Energy | 1 | 6 | 3 | 1 | 2.36 |
Chord Energy presently has a consensus target price of $147.15, indicating a potential upside of 46.61%. SM Energy has a consensus target price of $42.08, indicating a potential upside of 63.94%. Given SM Energy’s higher possible upside, analysts clearly believe SM Energy is more favorable than Chord Energy.
Summary
SM Energy beats Chord Energy on 10 of the 17 factors compared between the two stocks.
About Chord Energy
Chord Energy Corporation operates as an independent exploration and production company in the United States. It acquires, explores, develops, and produces crude oil, natural gas, and natural gas liquids in the Williston Basin. The company sells its products to refiners, marketers, and other purchasers that have access to nearby pipeline and rail facilities. The company was formerly known as Oasis Petroleum Inc. and changed its name to Chord Energy Corporation in July 2022. Chord Energy Corporation was founded in 2007 and is headquartered in Houston, Texas.
About SM Energy
SM Energy Company, an independent energy company, engages in the acquisition, exploration, development, and production of oil, gas, and natural gas liquids in the state of Texas. It has working interests in oil and gas producing wells in the Midland Basin and South Texas. The company was formerly known as St. Mary Land & Exploration Company and changed its name to SM Energy Company in May 2010. SM Energy Company was founded in 1908 and is headquartered in Denver, Colorado.
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