Head-To-Head Review: Sundance Energy Australia (OTCMKTS:SDCJF) versus California Resources (NYSE:CRC)

California Resources (NYSE:CRC) and Sundance Energy Australia (OTCMKTS:SDCJF) are both oils/energy companies, but which is the superior stock? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their dividends, valuation, institutional ownership, analyst recommendations, profitability, risk and earnings.

Volatility & Risk

California Resources has a beta of 0.98, indicating that its stock price is 2% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Sundance Energy Australia has a beta of 3.96, indicating that its stock price is 296% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Valuation and Earnings

This table compares California Resources and Sundance Energy Australia”s gross revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
California Resources	$2.64 billion	1.53	$564.00 million	$6.35	9.38
Sundance Energy Australia	$164.93 million	0.06	-$28.14 million	N/A	N/A

California Resources has higher revenue and earnings than Sundance Energy Australia.

Profitability

This table compares California Resources and Sundance Energy Australia’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
California Resources	17.43%	12.16%	6.15%
Sundance Energy Australia	24.02%	13.45%	6.16%

Insider and Institutional Ownership

97.8% of California Resources shares are held by institutional investors. 0.0% of California Resources shares are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, hedge funds and endowments believe a stock will outperform the market over the long term.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a breakdown of current recommendations and price targets for California Resources and Sundance Energy Australia, as provided by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
California Resources	0	1	9	0	2.90
Sundance Energy Australia	0	0	0	0	0.00

California Resources currently has a consensus price target of $65.50, suggesting a potential upside of 9.92%. Given California Resources’ stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, analysts plainly believe California Resources is more favorable than Sundance Energy Australia.

Summary

California Resources beats Sundance Energy Australia on 8 of the 12 factors compared between the two stocks.

About California Resources

California Resources Corporation operates as an independent oil and natural gas exploration and production, and carbon management company in the United States. The company explores, produces, and markets crude oil, natural gas, and natural gas liquids for marketers, California refineries, and other purchasers that have access to transportation and storage facilities. It also engages in the generation and sale of electricity to the wholesale power market and utility sector; and developing various carbon capture and storage projects in California. The company was incorporated in 2014 and is based in Long Beach, California.

About Sundance Energy Australia

Sundance Energy Australia Limited operates as an onshore oil and gas company in the United States. The company explores for, develops, and produces oil and natural gas. Its exploration and development activities are focused on the Eagle Ford project in the South-Texas-Gulf Coast Basin. Sundance Energy Australia Limited was incorporated in 2004 and is based in Wayville, Australia.