Financial Review: Verde Clean Fuels (NASDAQ:VGAS) versus Montauk Renewables (NASDAQ:MNTK)

Verde Clean Fuels (NASDAQ:VGAS) and Montauk Renewables (NASDAQ:MNTK) are both small-cap energy companies, but which is the better stock? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their dividends, earnings, analyst recommendations, profitability, institutional ownership, valuation and risk.

Institutional & Insider Ownership

15.6% of Verde Clean Fuels shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 16.4% of Montauk Renewables shares are held by institutional investors. 0.5% of Verde Clean Fuels shares are held by company insiders. Comparatively, 54.3% of Montauk Renewables shares are held by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, large money managers and hedge funds believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.

Analyst Ratings

This is a breakdown of current recommendations for Verde Clean Fuels and Montauk Renewables, as reported by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Verde Clean Fuels	1	0	0	0	1.00
Montauk Renewables	1	1	0	1	2.33

Profitability

This table compares Verde Clean Fuels and Montauk Renewables’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Verde Clean Fuels	N/A	-10.89%	-10.41%
Montauk Renewables	0.15%	0.10%	0.07%

Valuation & Earnings

This table compares Verde Clean Fuels and Montauk Renewables”s top-line revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Verde Clean Fuels	N/A	N/A	-$6.96 million	($0.38)	-5.00
Montauk Renewables	$176.38 million	1.14	$1.75 million	$0.02	70.00

Montauk Renewables has higher revenue and earnings than Verde Clean Fuels. Verde Clean Fuels is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Montauk Renewables, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Risk and Volatility

Verde Clean Fuels has a beta of -0.43, indicating that its share price is 143% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Montauk Renewables has a beta of 0.18, indicating that its share price is 82% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Summary

Montauk Renewables beats Verde Clean Fuels on 12 of the 12 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Verde Clean Fuels

Verde Clean Fuels, Inc., operates as a clean energy technology company in the United States. It specializes in the conversion of synthesis gas, or syngas, derived from feedstocks, such as biomass, natural gas, and other feedstocks into liquid hydrocarbons that can be used as gasoline through proprietary liquid fuels technology. Verde Clean Fuels, Inc. was founded in 2007 and is headquartered in Houston, Texas.

About Montauk Renewables

Montauk Renewables, Inc., a renewable energy company, engages in recovery and processing of biogas from landfills and other non-fossil fuel sources. It operates in two segments, Renewable Natural Gas and Renewable Electricity Generation. The company develops, owns, and operates renewable natural gas (RNG) projects that captures methane and prevents it from being released into the atmosphere by converting it into either RNG or electrical power for the electrical grid. Its customers for RNG and renewable identification numbers (RIN) include large, long-term owner-operators of landfills and livestock farms, local utilities, and large refiners in the natural gas and refining sectors. Montauk Renewables, Inc. was founded in 1980 and is headquartered in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.