Financial Contrast: Veren (NYSE:VRN) versus PHX Minerals (NYSE:PHX)

PHX Minerals (NYSE:PHX) and Veren (NYSE:VRN) are both oils/energy companies, but which is the better investment? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their earnings, dividends, valuation, profitability, institutional ownership, risk and analyst recommendations.

Risk & Volatility

PHX Minerals has a beta of 0.57, indicating that its share price is 43% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Veren has a beta of 2.13, indicating that its share price is 113% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Profitability

This table compares PHX Minerals and Veren’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
PHX Minerals	12.33%	4.16%	3.12%
Veren	26.93%	12.23%	6.80%

Institutional & Insider Ownership

38.2% of PHX Minerals shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 49.4% of Veren shares are owned by institutional investors. 6.4% of PHX Minerals shares are owned by company insiders. Comparatively, 0.3% of Veren shares are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, large money managers and hedge funds believe a stock will outperform the market over the long term.

Dividends

PHX Minerals pays an annual dividend of $0.16 per share and has a dividend yield of 4.0%. Veren pays an annual dividend of $0.34 per share and has a dividend yield of 6.4%. PHX Minerals pays out 123.1% of its earnings in the form of a dividend, suggesting it may not have sufficient earnings to cover its dividend payment in the future. Veren pays out 24.3% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Veren is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and lower payout ratio.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a breakdown of current ratings and target prices for PHX Minerals and Veren, as reported by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
PHX Minerals	0	0	2	0	3.00
Veren	0	0	2	1	3.33

PHX Minerals currently has a consensus target price of $4.90, indicating a potential upside of 23.43%. Veren has a consensus target price of $12.67, indicating a potential upside of 137.65%. Given Veren’s stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, analysts plainly believe Veren is more favorable than PHX Minerals.

Valuation and Earnings

This table compares PHX Minerals and Veren”s gross revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
PHX Minerals	$38.33 million	3.88	$13.92 million	$0.13	30.54
Veren	$4.30 billion	0.76	$422.48 million	$1.40	3.81

Veren has higher revenue and earnings than PHX Minerals. Veren is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than PHX Minerals, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Summary

Veren beats PHX Minerals on 13 of the 16 factors compared between the two stocks.

About PHX Minerals

PHX Minerals Inc. operates as a natural gas and oil mineral company in the United States. The company produces and sells natural gas, crude oil, and natural gas liquids. Its principal properties are located in Oklahoma, Texas, Louisiana, North Dakota, and Arkansas. The company sells its products to various purchasers, including pipeline and marketing companies. The company was formerly known as Panhandle Oil and Gas Inc. and changed its name to PHX Minerals Inc. in October 2020. PHX Minerals Inc. was founded in 1926 and is headquartered in Fort Worth, Texas.

About Veren

Veren Inc. explores, develops, and produces oil and gas properties in Canada and the United States. The company focuses on crude oil, tight oil, natural gas liquids, shale gas, and natural gas reserves. Its properties are located in the provinces of Saskatchewan, Alberta, British Columbia, and Manitoba; and the states of North Dakota. The company was formerly known as Crescent Point Energy Corp. and changed its name to Veren Inc. in May 2024. Veren Inc. was incorporated in 1994 and is headquartered in Calgary, Canada.