Financial Analysis: Prairie Operating (NASDAQ:PROP) & Dynagas LNG Partners (NYSE:DLNG)

Dynagas LNG Partners (NYSE:DLNG) and Prairie Operating (NASDAQ:PROP) are both small-cap energy companies, but which is the better investment? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their earnings, valuation, profitability, institutional ownership, analyst recommendations, dividends and risk.

Insider & Institutional Ownership

34.3% of Prairie Operating shares are owned by institutional investors. 3.1% of Prairie Operating shares are owned by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, hedge funds and large money managers believe a company will outperform the market over the long term.

Volatility and Risk

Dynagas LNG Partners has a beta of 0.53, meaning that its stock price is 47% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Prairie Operating has a beta of 1.26, meaning that its stock price is 26% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Profitability

This table compares Dynagas LNG Partners and Prairie Operating’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Dynagas LNG Partners	41.60%	13.59%	6.68%
Prairie Operating	-13.02%	46.53%	5.51%

Analyst Recommendations

This is a summary of current ratings for Dynagas LNG Partners and Prairie Operating, as reported by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Dynagas LNG Partners	0	1	0	0	2.00
Prairie Operating	2	1	1	0	1.75

Prairie Operating has a consensus target price of $2.50, indicating a potential upside of 393.39%. Given Prairie Operating’s higher possible upside, analysts plainly believe Prairie Operating is more favorable than Dynagas LNG Partners.

Valuation and Earnings

This table compares Dynagas LNG Partners and Prairie Operating”s gross revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Dynagas LNG Partners	$157.46 million	0.88	$61.60 million	$1.52	2.49
Prairie Operating	$241.65 million	0.24	$32.05 million	($2.05)	-0.25

Dynagas LNG Partners has higher earnings, but lower revenue than Prairie Operating. Prairie Operating is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Dynagas LNG Partners, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

About Dynagas LNG Partners

Dynagas LNG Partners LP, through its subsidiaries, operates in the seaborne transportation industry in Greece and internationally. The company owns and operates liquefied natural gas (LNG) carriers. Its fleet consists of six LNG carriers with an aggregate carrying capacity of approximately 914,000 cubic meters. Dynagas GP LLC serves as the general partner of Dynagas LNG Partners LP. The company was incorporated in 2013 and is headquartered in Athens, Greece.

About Prairie Operating

Prairie Operating Co., an independent energy company, engages in the development, exploration, and production of oil, natural gas, and natural gas liquids in the United States. The company holds assets in the Denver-Julesburg Basin in Colorado; and the Niobrara and Codell formations. Prairie Operating Co. is based in Houston Texas.