Looking at Mexco Energy (NYSE:MXC) and Par Pacific (NYSE:PARR)

Mexco Energy ( NYSE:MXC – Get Your Free Report ) and Par Pacific ( NYSE:PARR – Get Your Free Report ) are both small-cap oil/energy companies, but which is the superior investment? We’ll compare the two businesses based on their risk strength, analyst recommendations, earnings, dividends, valuation, profitability and institutional ownership.

Risk and volatility

Mexco Energy has a beta of 0.54, meaning its share price is 46% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Par Pacific has a beta of 2, meaning its share price is 100% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Rating and Earnings

This table compares Mexco Energy and Par Pacific’s gross revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

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

Institutional and insider ownership

5.9% of Mexco Energy shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 92.2% of Par Pacific shares are held by institutional investors. 51.0% of Mexco Energy shares are owned by insiders. Comparatively, 4.4% of Par Pacific shares are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, big money managers and hedge funds believe a company will outperform the market over the long term.

return

This table compares Mexco Energy and Par Pacific’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

Analyst recommendations

This is a breakdown of recent recommendations and price targets for Mexco Energy and Par Pacific, as reported by MarketBeat.

Par Pacific has a consensus target price of $34.50, suggesting a potential upside of 41.39%. Given Par Pacific’s higher possible upside, analysts plainly believe Par Pacific is more favorable than Mexco Energy.

Summary

Par Pacific beats Mexco Energy in 9 of the 13 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Mexco Energy

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Mexco Energy Corporation, an independent oil and gas company, engages in the acquisition, exploration, development and production of natural gas, crude oil, condensate and natural gas liquids in the United States. It owns partial interests in approximately 6,400 gross producing wells located in the states of Texas, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Louisiana, Alabama, Mississippi, Arkansas, Wyoming, Kansas, Colorado, Montana, Virginia, North Dakota and Ohio. It also held mineral leases, royalties and other interests in approximately 2,768 net acres. The company was formerly known as Miller Oil Company and changed its name to Mexco Energy Corporation in April 1980. Mexco Energy Corporation was founded in 1972 and is headquartered in Midland, Texas.

About Par Pacific

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Par Pacific Holdings, Inc. owns and operates energy and infrastructure businesses. The company operates through refining, retail and logistics segments. The Refining segment owns and operates refineries that produce gasoline, distillate, asphalt and other products primarily for consumption in Kapolei, Hawaii, Newcastle, Wyoming, Tacoma, Washington and Billings, Montana. The Retail segment operates fuel retail outlets that sell merchandise such as soft drinks, prepared foods and other miscellaneous products in Hawaii under the Hele, 76 and nomnom brands; and gasoline, diesel and retail merchandise in Washington and Idaho. The Logistics segment owns and operates terminals, pipelines, single-point berthing, marine vessels, storage facilities, loading racks and trucks, and rail facilities to distribute ethanol, petroleum and refined products in Hawaii, the West Coast of the United States, Washington, D.C. , and Wyoming; and a jet fuel storage facility and pipeline serving Ellsworth Air Force Base in South Dakota. It also has interests in the refined products pipeline. In addition, the company owns and operates a marine terminal, a rail loading terminal capable of operating with a train; a truck rack and its own pipeline serving Joint Base Lewis McChord. The company was formerly known as Par Petroleum Corporation and changed its name to Par Pacific Holdings, Inc. in October 2015. Par Pacific Holdings, Inc. was founded in 1984 and is headquartered in Houston, Texas.

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