Analyzing Universal Energy (OTCMKTS:UVSE) and Viper Energy (NASDAQ:VNOM)

Viper Energy (NASDAQ:VNOM) and Universal Energy (OTCMKTS:UVSE) are both energy companies, but which is the superior investment? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their institutional ownership, analyst recommendations, dividends, profitability, earnings, risk and valuation.

Profitability

This table compares Viper Energy and Universal Energy’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Viper Energy	-4.87%	2.62%	2.18%
Universal Energy	N/A	N/A	N/A

Institutional & Insider Ownership

87.7% of Viper Energy shares are held by institutional investors. 0.2% of Viper Energy shares are held by insiders. Comparatively, 0.2% of Universal Energy shares are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, endowments and hedge funds believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.

Risk & Volatility

Viper Energy has a beta of 0.5, meaning that its share price is 50% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Universal Energy has a beta of 0.23, meaning that its share price is 77% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a breakdown of current ratings and recommmendations for Viper Energy and Universal Energy, as provided by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Viper Energy	0	2	14	1	2.94
Universal Energy	0	0	0	0	0.00

Viper Energy presently has a consensus price target of $53.33, suggesting a potential upside of 14.77%. Given Viper Energy’s stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, equities research analysts plainly believe Viper Energy is more favorable than Universal Energy.

Valuation & Earnings

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

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Viper Energy	$1.40 billion	11.91	-$68.00 million	($0.23)	-202.04
Universal Energy	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A

Universal Energy has lower revenue, but higher earnings than Viper Energy.

Summary

Viper Energy beats Universal Energy on 9 of the 11 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Viper Energy

Viper Energy, Inc. engages in the acquisition of oil and natural gas properties. It owns, acquires, and exploits oil and natural gas properties in North America. The company was founded on February 27, 2014 and is headquartered in Midland, TX.

About Universal Energy

Universal Energy Corp., an independent energy company, engages in the acquisition, exploration, development, and production of crude oil and natural gas in the United States and Canada. It has 13 oil and gas lease projects. The company was founded in 2002 and is based in Lake Mary, Florida.