Reviewing Chord Energy (NASDAQ:CHRD) and Comstock Resources (NYSE:CRK)

Chord Energy (NASDAQ:CHRD) and Comstock Resources (NYSE:CRK) are both mid-cap oils/energy companies, but which is the superior investment? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their dividends, risk, analyst recommendations, earnings, valuation, profitability and institutional ownership.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a breakdown of current ratings and recommmendations for Chord Energy and Comstock Resources, as reported by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Chord Energy	0	1	11	1	3.00
Comstock Resources	3	8	2	0	1.92

Chord Energy currently has a consensus target price of $180.25, suggesting a potential upside of 46.80%. Comstock Resources has a consensus target price of $11.78, suggesting a potential downside of 37.29%. Given Chord Energy’s stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, equities research analysts clearly believe Chord Energy is more favorable than Comstock Resources.

Risk & Volatility

Chord Energy has a beta of 0.99, suggesting that its stock price is 1% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Comstock Resources has a beta of 0.51, suggesting that its stock price is 49% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Dividends

Chord Energy pays an annual dividend of $5.00 per share and has a dividend yield of 4.1%. Comstock Resources pays an annual dividend of $0.50 per share and has a dividend yield of 2.7%. Chord Energy pays out 25.7% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Comstock Resources pays out -277.8% 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.

Insider and Institutional Ownership

97.8% of Chord Energy shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 36.1% of Comstock Resources shares are held by institutional investors. 0.7% of Chord Energy shares are held by company insiders. Comparatively, 2.0% of Comstock Resources shares are held by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, endowments and hedge funds believe a company will outperform the market over the long term.

Profitability

This table compares Chord Energy and Comstock Resources’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Chord Energy	19.74%	12.88%	8.91%
Comstock Resources	-4.93%	-3.88%	-1.48%

Earnings & Valuation

This table compares Chord Energy and Comstock Resources”s gross revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Chord Energy	$4.76 billion	1.58	$1.02 billion	$19.42	6.32
Comstock Resources	$1.30 billion	4.23	$211.12 million	($0.18)	-104.33

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

Summary

Chord Energy beats Comstock Resources on 14 of the 17 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Chord Energy

Chord Energy Corporation operates as an independent exploration and production company in the United States. It acquires, explores, develops, and produces crude oil, natural gas, and natural gas liquids in the Williston Basin. The company sells its products to refiners, marketers, and other purchasers that have access to nearby pipeline and rail facilities. The company was formerly known as Oasis Petroleum Inc. and changed its name to Chord Energy Corporation in July 2022. Chord Energy Corporation was founded in 2007 and is headquartered in Houston, Texas.

About Comstock Resources

Comstock Resources, Inc., an independent energy company, engages in the acquisition, exploration, development, and production of natural gas and oil properties in the United States. Its assets are located in the Haynesville and Bossier shales located in North Louisiana and East Texas. The company was incorporated in 1919 and is headquartered in Frisco, Texas. Comstock Resources, Inc. is a subsidiary of Arkoma Drilling, L.P.