U.S. Energy (NASDAQ:USEG) versus Viper Energy (NASDAQ:VNOM) Financial Analysis

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

Analyst Ratings

This is a summary of recent recommendations for U.S. Energy and Viper Energy, as provided by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
U.S. Energy	0	0	0	0	0.00
Viper Energy	0	0	8	0	3.00

Viper Energy has a consensus price target of $51.25, indicating a potential downside of 2.99%. Given Viper Energy’s stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, analysts clearly believe Viper Energy is more favorable than U.S. Energy.

Valuation and Earnings

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

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
U.S. Energy	$27.50 million	1.45	-$32.36 million	($1.59)	-0.89
Viper Energy	$835.80 million	11.18	$200.09 million	$2.33	22.67

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

Profitability

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

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
U.S. Energy	-145.83%	-74.13%	-41.72%
Viper Energy	24.65%	6.99%	5.06%

Dividends

U.S. Energy pays an annual dividend of $0.09 per share and has a dividend yield of 6.3%. Viper Energy pays an annual dividend of $1.20 per share and has a dividend yield of 2.3%. U.S. Energy pays out -5.7% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Viper Energy pays out 51.5% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Both companies have healthy payout ratios and should be able to cover their dividend payments with earnings for the next several years. U.S. Energy is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and lower payout ratio.

Insider & Institutional Ownership

3.0% of U.S. Energy shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 87.7% of Viper Energy shares are owned by institutional investors. 70.9% of U.S. Energy shares are owned by insiders. Comparatively, 0.3% of Viper Energy 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 and Volatility

U.S. Energy has a beta of 0.47, indicating that its share price is 53% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Viper Energy has a beta of 1.72, indicating that its share price is 72% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Summary

Viper Energy beats U.S. Energy on 13 of the 16 factors compared between the two stocks.

About U.S. Energy

U.S. Energy Corp., an independent energy company, focuses on the acquisition, exploration, and development of oil and natural gas properties in the United States. It holds interests in various oil and gas properties located in the Rockies region, including Montana, Wyoming, and North Dakota; the Mid-Continent region comprising Oklahoma, Kansas, and North and East Texas; West Texas; South Texas; and the Gulf Coast regions. The company was incorporated in 1966 and is headquartered in Houston, Texas.

About Viper Energy

Viper Energy, Inc. owns and acquires mineral and royalty interests in oil and natural gas properties in the Permian Basin, North America. Viper Energy Partners GP LLC operates as the general partner of the company. The company was formerly known as Viper Energy Partners LP and changed its name to Viper Energy, Inc. in November 2023. The company was founded in 2013 and is based in Midland, Texas. Viper Energy, Inc. is a subsidiary of Diamondback Energy, Inc.