Contrasting Murphy Oil (NYSE:MUR) & Diversified Energy (NYSE:DEC)

Murphy Oil (NYSE:MUR) and Diversified Energy (NYSE:DEC) are both oils/energy companies, but which is the superior business? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their analyst recommendations, risk, earnings, institutional ownership, valuation, dividends and profitability.

Institutional and Insider Ownership

78.3% of Murphy Oil shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 26.5% of Diversified Energy shares are held by institutional investors. 5.9% of Murphy Oil shares are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, hedge funds and large money managers believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Earnings & Valuation

This table compares Murphy Oil and Diversified Energy”s revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Murphy Oil	$3.39 billion	1.59	$661.56 million	$3.59	9.85
Diversified Energy	$749.63 million	0.74	$758.02 million	N/A	N/A

Diversified Energy has lower revenue, but higher earnings than Murphy Oil.

Profitability

This table compares Murphy Oil and Diversified Energy’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Murphy Oil	17.32%	11.68%	6.56%
Diversified Energy	N/A	N/A	N/A

Analyst Ratings

This is a summary of current ratings for Murphy Oil and Diversified Energy, as reported by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Murphy Oil	0	7	5	0	2.42
Diversified Energy	0	0	2	0	3.00

Murphy Oil currently has a consensus price target of $45.55, indicating a potential upside of 28.81%. Diversified Energy has a consensus price target of $19.00, indicating a potential upside of 64.64%. Given Diversified Energy’s stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, analysts clearly believe Diversified Energy is more favorable than Murphy Oil.

Dividends

Murphy Oil pays an annual dividend of $1.20 per share and has a dividend yield of 3.4%. Diversified Energy pays an annual dividend of $0.81 per share and has a dividend yield of 7.0%. Murphy Oil pays out 33.4% of its earnings in the form of a dividend.

Summary

Murphy Oil beats Diversified Energy on 8 of the 13 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Murphy Oil

Murphy Oil Corporation, together with its subsidiaries, operates as an oil and gas exploration and production company in the United States, Canada, and internationally. It explores for and produces crude oil, natural gas, and natural gas liquids. The company was formerly known as Murphy Corporation and changed its name to Murphy Oil Corporation in 1964. The company was incorporated in 1950 and is headquartered in Houston, Texas.

About Diversified Energy

Diversified Energy Company PLC operates as an independent owner and operator of producing natural gas and oil wells primarily in the Appalachian Basin of the United States. The company is involved in the production, marketing, and transportation of natural gas, natural gas liquids, crude oil, and condensates. Its assets consist of natural gas wells and gathering systems located in the states of Tennessee, Kentucky, Virginia, West Virginia, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Oklahoma, Texas, and Louisiana. The company was formerly known as Diversified Gas & Oil PLC and changed its name to Diversified Energy Company PLC in May 2021. Diversified Energy Company PLC was founded in 2001 and is headquartered in Birmingham, Alabama.