Berry (NASDAQ:BRY) vs. Genel Energy (OTCMKTS:GEGYY) Critical Survey

Berry (NASDAQ:BRY) and Genel Energy (OTCMKTS:GEGYY) are both small-cap oils/energy companies, but which is the superior investment? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their profitability, analyst recommendations, dividends, risk, valuation, earnings and institutional ownership.

Institutional and Insider Ownership

94.9% of Berry shares are owned by institutional investors. 1.0% of Berry shares are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, endowments and large money managers believe a stock will outperform the market over the long term.

Profitability

This table compares Berry and Genel Energy’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Berry	9.40%	6.50%	2.98%
Genel Energy	N/A	N/A	N/A

Volatility & Risk

Berry has a beta of 1.67, meaning that its stock price is 67% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Genel Energy has a beta of 0.12, meaning that its stock price is 88% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Valuation & Earnings

This table compares Berry and Genel Energy”s revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Berry	$783.84 million	0.34	$37.40 million	$0.25	13.72
Genel Energy	$84.80 million	1.98	-$61.30 million	N/A	N/A

Berry has higher revenue and earnings than Genel Energy.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a summary of current recommendations and price targets for Berry and Genel Energy, as reported by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Berry	0	1	0	0	2.00
Genel Energy	0	0	0	0	0.00

Berry currently has a consensus price target of $5.00, indicating a potential upside of 45.77%. Given Berry’s stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, research analysts clearly believe Berry is more favorable than Genel Energy.

Dividends

Berry pays an annual dividend of $0.12 per share and has a dividend yield of 3.5%. Genel Energy pays an annual dividend of $0.10 per share and has a dividend yield of 16.7%. Berry pays out 48.0% of its earnings in the form of a dividend.

Summary

Berry beats Genel Energy on 10 of the 13 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Berry

Berry Petroleum Company, LLC., formerly Berry Petroleum Company, is an independent energy company. The Company is engaged in the production, development, exploitation, and acquisition of oil and natural gas. The Company’s principal reserves and producing properties are located in California (South Midway-Sunset (SMWSS)-Steam Floods, North Midway-Sunset (NMWSS)-Diatomite, NMWSS-New Steam Floods, Texas (Permian and E. Texas), Utah (Uinta) and Colorado (Piceance). The Company’s operations are conducted in the continental United States. In December 2013, Linn Energy LLC and Linn Co, LLC (Linn Co) announced the completion of the merger between LinnCo and Berry Petroleum Company (Berry), where LinnCo had acquired all of Berry’s interest.

About Genel Energy

Genel Energy plc, through its subsidiaries, operates as an independent oil and gas exploration and production company. It operates through two segments, Production and Pre-production. The Production segment holds a 25% working interest in the Tawke PSC; and 44% working interest in the Taq Taq PSC. The Pre-Production segment holds a 50% working interest in Odewayne and 51% working interest in SL10B13 block located in Somaliland; and 75% working interest in Lagzira block in Morocco. Genel Energy plc was founded in 2013 and is headquartered in London, the United Kingdom.