ECA Marcellus Trust I (OTCMKTS:ECT) vs. SM Energy (NYSE:SM) Head to Head Contrast

SM Energy (NYSE:SM) and ECA Marcellus Trust I (OTCMKTS:ECT) are both oils/energy companies, but which is the better business? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their dividends, valuation, analyst recommendations, institutional ownership, profitability, risk and earnings.

Analyst Ratings

This is a summary of recent ratings and target prices for SM Energy and ECA Marcellus Trust I, as reported by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
SM Energy	0	6	5	1	2.58
ECA Marcellus Trust I	0	0	0	0	0.00

SM Energy currently has a consensus price target of $51.90, indicating a potential upside of 38.92%. Given SM Energy’s stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, analysts plainly believe SM Energy is more favorable than ECA Marcellus Trust I.

Profitability

This table compares SM Energy and ECA Marcellus Trust I’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
SM Energy	33.89%	19.62%	10.87%
ECA Marcellus Trust I	46.53%	4.37%	4.32%

Earnings & Valuation

This table compares SM Energy and ECA Marcellus Trust I”s top-line revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
SM Energy	$2.37 billion	1.80	$817.88 million	$7.16	5.22
ECA Marcellus Trust I	$4.15 million	1.70	$2.90 million	N/A	N/A

SM Energy has higher revenue and earnings than ECA Marcellus Trust I.

Volatility and Risk

SM Energy has a beta of 4.11, suggesting that its share price is 311% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, ECA Marcellus Trust I has a beta of 2, suggesting that its share price is 100% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Insider & Institutional Ownership

94.6% of SM Energy shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 2.0% of ECA Marcellus Trust I shares are owned by institutional investors. 1.5% of SM Energy shares are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, endowments and large money managers believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.

Summary

SM Energy beats ECA Marcellus Trust I on 13 of the 14 factors compared between the two stocks.

About SM Energy

SM Energy Company, an independent energy company, engages in the acquisition, exploration, development, and production of oil, gas, and natural gas liquids in the state of Texas. It has working interests in oil and gas producing wells in the Midland Basin and South Texas. The company was formerly known as St. Mary Land & Exploration Company and changed its name to SM Energy Company in May 2010. SM Energy Company was founded in 1908 and is headquartered in Denver, Colorado.

About ECA Marcellus Trust I

ECA Marcellus Trust I is a statutory trust. It owns royalty interest in producing wells and development wells. It also acquires horizontal natural gas development wells to be drilled to the Marcellus Shale formation. The company was founded in March 2010 and is headquartered in Houston, TX.