Reviewing Par Pacific (NYSE:PARR) & Ovintiv (NYSE:OVV)

Par Pacific (NYSE:PARR) and Ovintiv (NYSE:OVV) are both energy companies, but which is the better investment? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their dividends, earnings, risk, institutional ownership, profitability, analyst recommendations and valuation.

Earnings and Valuation

This table compares Par Pacific and Ovintiv”s revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Par Pacific	$7.74 billion	0.14	$728.64 million	($1.13)	-17.96
Ovintiv	$9.18 billion	1.05	$2.09 billion	$2.35	15.77

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

Analyst Ratings

This is a summary of current ratings and price targets for Par Pacific and Ovintiv, as provided by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Par Pacific	0	4	5	0	2.56
Ovintiv	0	2	13	2	3.00

Par Pacific presently has a consensus target price of $21.25, suggesting a potential upside of 4.68%. Ovintiv has a consensus target price of $55.65, suggesting a potential upside of 50.15%. Given Ovintiv’s stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, analysts plainly believe Ovintiv is more favorable than Par Pacific.

Profitability

This table compares Par Pacific and Ovintiv’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Par Pacific	3.74%	10.06%	3.37%
Ovintiv	20.15%	17.87%	9.35%

Volatility and Risk

Par Pacific has a beta of 1.5, suggesting that its stock price is 50% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Ovintiv has a beta of 1.14, suggesting that its stock price is 14% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Insider and Institutional Ownership

92.2% of Par Pacific shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 83.8% of Ovintiv shares are held by institutional investors. 4.4% of Par Pacific shares are held by insiders. Comparatively, 1.7% of Ovintiv shares are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, large money managers and endowments believe a company will outperform the market over the long term.

Summary

Ovintiv beats Par Pacific on 12 of the 15 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Par Pacific

Par Pacific Holdings, Inc. owns and operates energy and infrastructure businesses. The company operates through Refining, Retail, and Logistics segments. The Refining segment owns and operates refineries that produce gasoline, distillate, asphalt, and other products primarily for consumption in Kapolei, Hawaii, Newcastle, Wyoming, Tacoma, Washington, and Billings, Montana. The Retail segment operates fuel retail outlets, which sell merchandise, such as soft drinks, prepared foods, and other sundries in Hawaii under the Hele, 76, and nomnom brands; and gasoline, diesel, and retail merchandise in Washington and Idaho. The Logistics segment owns and operates terminals, pipelines, single point mooring, marine vessels, storage facilities, loading and truck racks, and rail facilities to distribute ethanol, petroleum, and refined products throughout Hawaii, the United States West Coast, Washington, the Dakotas, and Wyoming; and a jet fuel storage facility and pipeline that serves Ellsworth Air Force Base in South Dakota. It also holds interest in refined products pipeline. In addition, the company owns and operates a marine terminal, a unit train-capable rail loading terminal; a truck rack, and a proprietary pipeline that serves Joint Base Lewis McChord. The company was formerly known as Par Petroleum Corporation and changed its name to Par Pacific Holdings, Inc. in October 2015. Par Pacific Holdings, Inc. was incorporated in 1984 and is headquartered in Houston, Texas.

About Ovintiv

Ovintiv Inc., together with its subsidiaries, explores, develops, produces, and markets natural gas, oil, and natural gas liquids in the United States and Canada. The company operates through USA Operations, Canadian Operations, and Market Optimization segments. Its principal assets include Permian in west Texas and Anadarko in west-central Oklahoma; and Montney in northeast British Columbia and northwest Alberta. In addition, the company's upstream assets comprise Bakken in northwest North Dakota, and Uinta in central Utah; and Horn River in northeast British Columbia. The company was formerly known as Encana Corporation and changed its name to Ovintiv Inc. in January 2020. Ovintiv Inc. was incorporated in 2020 and is based in Denver, Colorado.