PEDEVCO (NYSE:PED) versus Obsidian Energy (OTCMKTS:OBELF) Head to Head Review

Obsidian Energy (OTCMKTS:OBELF) and PEDEVCO (NYSE:PED) are both small-cap energy companies, but which is the superior investment? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their institutional ownership, earnings, dividends, profitability, risk, valuation and analyst recommendations.

Insider and Institutional Ownership

0.0% of Obsidian Energy shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 3.3% of PEDEVCO shares are owned by institutional investors. 70.4% of PEDEVCO shares are owned by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, hedge funds and endowments believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Risk & Volatility

Obsidian Energy has a beta of 2.47, suggesting that its share price is 147% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, PEDEVCO has a beta of 0.2, suggesting that its share price is 80% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Profitability

This table compares Obsidian Energy and PEDEVCO’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Obsidian Energy	99.13%	78.07%	35.32%
PEDEVCO	6.57%	1.58%	1.39%

Valuation & Earnings

This table compares Obsidian Energy and PEDEVCO”s gross revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Obsidian Energy	$220.00 million	2.08	-$576.07 million	$4.17	1.36
PEDEVCO	$35.33 million	1.57	$260,000.00	$0.14	4.31

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

Analyst Ratings

This is a breakdown of current recommendations for Obsidian Energy and PEDEVCO, as reported by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Obsidian Energy	0	0	0	0	0.00
PEDEVCO	0	1	1	0	2.50

PEDEVCO has a consensus target price of $1.50, suggesting a potential upside of 148.84%. Given PEDEVCO’s stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, analysts plainly believe PEDEVCO is more favorable than Obsidian Energy.

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.

About PEDEVCO

PEDEVCO Corp., an oil and gas company, focuses on the acquisition, development, and production of oil and natural gas assets in the United States. It holds interests in the Permian Basin asset covering an area of approximately 22,721 net acres located in New Mexico; and D-J Basin asset covering an area of approximately 19,214 net acres located in Wyoming. The company is headquartered in Houston, Texas.