Riley Exploration Permian (NYSE:REPX) vs. AleAnna (NASDAQ:ANNA) Critical Analysis

AleAnna (NASDAQ:ANNA) and Riley Exploration Permian (NYSE:REPX) are both small-cap energy companies, but which is the better business? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their earnings, institutional ownership, risk, dividends, valuation, profitability and analyst recommendations.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a breakdown of recent ratings and target prices for AleAnna and Riley Exploration Permian, as reported by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
AleAnna	1	0	0	0	1.00
Riley Exploration Permian	0	1	3	0	2.75

Riley Exploration Permian has a consensus target price of $43.00, indicating a potential downside of 11.05%. Given Riley Exploration Permian’s stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, analysts plainly believe Riley Exploration Permian is more favorable than AleAnna.

Earnings & Valuation

This table compares AleAnna and Riley Exploration Permian”s gross revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
AleAnna	$25.04 million	6.26	$1.80 million	$0.19	12.37
Riley Exploration Permian	$483.86 million	2.21	$111.59 million	$5.52	8.76

Riley Exploration Permian has higher revenue and earnings than AleAnna. Riley Exploration Permian is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than AleAnna, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Profitability

This table compares AleAnna and Riley Exploration Permian’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
AleAnna	19.76%	12.95%	7.70%
Riley Exploration Permian	28.48%	23.82%	11.31%

Insider and Institutional Ownership

38.1% of AleAnna shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 58.9% of Riley Exploration Permian shares are held by institutional investors. 39.5% of AleAnna shares are held by insiders. Comparatively, 4.2% of Riley Exploration Permian shares are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, hedge funds and large money managers believe a stock will outperform the market over the long term.

Volatility and Risk

AleAnna has a beta of -1.59, suggesting that its share price is 259% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Riley Exploration Permian has a beta of 1.05, suggesting that its share price is 5% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Summary

Riley Exploration Permian beats AleAnna on 11 of the 14 factors compared between the two stocks.

About AleAnna

AleAnna, Inc. engages in oil and gas exploration and production activities. It focuses on Italy’s natural gas reserves and developing renewable energy solutions. The company was founded in 2007 and is headquartered in Dallas, TX.

About Riley Exploration Permian

Riley Exploration Permian, Inc., an independent oil and natural gas company, engages in the acquisition, exploration, development, and production of oil, natural gas, and natural gas liquids in Texas and New Mexico. The company's activities are primarily focused on the Northwest Shelf and Yeso trend of the Permian Basin. Its acreage is primarily located on contiguous blocks in Yoakum County, Texas; and Eddy County, New Mexico. Riley Exploration Permian, Inc. is headquartered in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma.