Head to Head Analysis: PetroQuest Energy (OTCMKTS:PQUE) versus Anadarko Petroleum (NASDAQ:APC)

PetroQuest Energy (OTCMKTS:PQUE) and Anadarko Petroleum (NASDAQ:APC) are both small-cap energy companies, but which is the superior stock? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their valuation, analyst recommendations, earnings, risk, institutional ownership, profitability and dividends.

Insider & Institutional Ownership

1.6% of PetroQuest Energy shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 85.2% of Anadarko Petroleum shares are held by institutional investors. 8.8% of PetroQuest Energy shares are held by company insiders. Comparatively, 0.5% of Anadarko Petroleum shares are held by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, large money managers and endowments believe a company will outperform the market over the long term.

Analyst Ratings

This is a breakdown of recent ratings and price targets for PetroQuest Energy and Anadarko Petroleum, as reported by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
PetroQuest Energy	0	0	0	0	0.00
Anadarko Petroleum	0	2	3	1	2.83

Anadarko Petroleum has a consensus price target of $21.60, suggesting a potential upside of 17.39%. Given Anadarko Petroleum’s stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, analysts plainly believe Anadarko Petroleum is more favorable than PetroQuest Energy.

Profitability

This table compares PetroQuest Energy and Anadarko Petroleum’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
PetroQuest Energy	-4.93%	N/A	-3.76%
Anadarko Petroleum	-4.20%	10.49%	2.68%

Earnings & Valuation

This table compares PetroQuest Energy and Anadarko Petroleum”s top-line revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
PetroQuest Energy	$108.29 million	0.00	-$6.63 million	($0.55)	-0.04
Anadarko Petroleum	$5.58 billion	0.04	$615.00 million	$0.23	80.00

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

Risk and Volatility

PetroQuest Energy has a beta of 1.56, suggesting that its stock price is 56% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Anadarko Petroleum has a beta of 1.64, suggesting that its stock price is 64% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Summary

Anadarko Petroleum beats PetroQuest Energy on 14 of the 15 factors compared between the two stocks.

About PetroQuest Energy

PetroQuest Energy, Inc. operates as an independent oil and gas company in Texas and Louisiana. The company acquires, explores for, develops, and operates oil and gas properties. As of December 31, 2017, it had estimated proved reserves of 1.8 million barrels of oil; 19.4 billion cubic feet equivalent of natural gas liquids; and 125.4 billion cubic feet of natural gas. PetroQuest Energy, Inc. was founded in 1983 and is headquartered in Lafayette, Louisiana.

About Anadarko Petroleum

Anadarko Petroleum Corporation engages in the exploration, development, production, and marketing of oil and gas properties. It operates through three segments: Exploration and Production, WES Midstream, and Other Midstream. The company explores for and produces oil, natural gas, and natural gas liquids (NGLs). It is also involved in gathering, processing, treating, and transporting oil, natural-gas, and NGLs production, as well as the gathering and disposal of produced water. The company's oil and natural gas properties are located in the United States onshore and deepwater Gulf of Mexico; and Algeria, Ghana, Mozambique, Colombia, Peru, and other countries. As of December 31, 2018, it had approximately 1.5 billion barrels of oil equivalent of proved reserves. The company was founded in 1959 and is headquartered in The Woodlands, Texas.