Comparing Par Pacific (NYSE:PARR) and Murphy Oil (NYSE:MUR)

Murphy Oil (NYSE:MUR) and Par Pacific (NYSE:PARR) are both mid-cap energy companies, but which is the superior business? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their earnings, profitability, risk, analyst recommendations, dividends, institutional ownership and valuation.

Risk and Volatility

Murphy Oil has a beta of 0.59, indicating that its stock price is 41% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Par Pacific has a beta of 0.75, indicating that its stock price is 25% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Insider and Institutional Ownership

78.3% of Murphy Oil shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 92.2% of Par Pacific shares are owned by institutional investors. 5.8% of Murphy Oil shares are owned by company insiders. Comparatively, 3.6% of Par Pacific shares are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, hedge funds and endowments believe a company will outperform the market over the long term.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a summary of current ratings and recommmendations for Murphy Oil and Par Pacific, as reported by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Murphy Oil	2	8	4	1	2.27
Par Pacific	0	4	8	1	2.77

Murphy Oil currently has a consensus target price of $39.75, suggesting a potential downside of 9.47%. Par Pacific has a consensus target price of $90.43, suggesting a potential upside of 18.67%. Given Par Pacific’s stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, analysts plainly believe Par Pacific is more favorable than Murphy Oil.

Earnings & Valuation

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

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Murphy Oil	$2.99 billion	2.10	$104.23 million	$2.02	21.74
Par Pacific	$7.46 billion	0.51	$369.39 million	$17.14	4.45

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

Profitability

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

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Murphy Oil	9.74%	6.63%	3.51%
Par Pacific	9.94%	56.19%	21.61%

Summary

Par Pacific beats Murphy Oil on 11 of the 14 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 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.