Chord Energy (NASDAQ:CHRD) and Comstock Resources (NYSE:CRK) Head-To-Head Analysis

Chord Energy (NASDAQ:CHRD) and Comstock Resources (NYSE:CRK) are both mid-cap oils/energy companies, but which is the better business? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their risk, profitability, analyst recommendations, institutional ownership, earnings, valuation and dividends.

Institutional and Insider Ownership

97.8% of Chord Energy shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 36.1% of Comstock Resources shares are owned by institutional investors. 0.7% of Chord Energy shares are owned by company insiders. Comparatively, 2.0% of Comstock Resources shares are owned by company 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.

Dividends

Chord Energy pays an annual dividend of $5.00 per share and has a dividend yield of 4.1%. Comstock Resources pays an annual dividend of $0.50 per share and has a dividend yield of 2.8%. Chord Energy pays out 25.7% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Comstock Resources pays out -277.8% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Both companies have healthy payout ratios and should be able to cover their dividend payments with earnings for the next several years.

Analyst Ratings

This is a summary of current ratings and recommmendations for Chord Energy and Comstock Resources, as reported by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Chord Energy	0	1	11	1	3.00
Comstock Resources	3	8	2	0	1.92

Chord Energy presently has a consensus price target of $180.25, suggesting a potential upside of 49.03%. Comstock Resources has a consensus price target of $11.78, suggesting a potential downside of 33.38%. Given Chord Energy’s stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, equities analysts clearly believe Chord Energy is more favorable than Comstock Resources.

Profitability

This table compares Chord Energy and Comstock Resources’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Chord Energy	19.74%	12.88%	8.91%
Comstock Resources	-4.93%	-3.88%	-1.48%

Valuation & Earnings

This table compares Chord Energy and Comstock Resources”s revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Chord Energy	$4.76 billion	1.55	$1.02 billion	$19.42	6.23
Comstock Resources	$1.30 billion	3.98	$211.12 million	($0.18)	-98.22

Chord Energy has higher revenue and earnings than Comstock Resources. Comstock Resources is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Chord Energy, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Volatility & Risk

Chord Energy has a beta of 0.96, suggesting that its share price is 4% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Comstock Resources has a beta of 0.51, suggesting that its share price is 49% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Summary

Chord Energy beats Comstock Resources on 14 of the 17 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Chord Energy

Chord Energy Corporation operates as an independent exploration and production company in the United States. It acquires, explores, develops, and produces crude oil, natural gas, and natural gas liquids in the Williston Basin. The company sells its products to refiners, marketers, and other purchasers that have access to nearby pipeline and rail facilities. The company was formerly known as Oasis Petroleum Inc. and changed its name to Chord Energy Corporation in July 2022. Chord Energy Corporation was founded in 2007 and is headquartered in Houston, Texas.

About Comstock Resources

Comstock Resources, Inc., an independent energy company, engages in the acquisition, exploration, development, and production of natural gas and oil properties in the United States. Its assets are located in the Haynesville and Bossier shales located in North Louisiana and East Texas. The company was incorporated in 1919 and is headquartered in Frisco, Texas. Comstock Resources, Inc. is a subsidiary of Arkoma Drilling, L.P.