Financial Contrast: ARC Resources (OTCMKTS:AETUF) & Houston American Energy (NYSE:HUSA)

ARC Resources (OTCMKTS:AETUF) and Houston American Energy (NYSE:HUSA) are both oils/energy companies, but which is the superior stock? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their earnings, institutional ownership, dividends, risk, valuation, profitability and analyst recommendations.

Valuation and Earnings

This table compares ARC Resources and Houston American Energy”s top-line revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
ARC Resources	$2.98 billion	3.72	$1.18 billion	$1.37	13.69
Houston American Energy	$790,000.00	23.36	-$3.21 million	($0.32)	-4.41

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

Insider and Institutional Ownership

2.5% of ARC Resources shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 12.2% of Houston American Energy shares are held by institutional investors. 0.3% of ARC Resources shares are held by company insiders. Comparatively, 15.4% of Houston American Energy shares are held by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, large money managers and endowments believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Risk and Volatility

ARC Resources has a beta of 1.08, meaning that its share price is 8% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Houston American Energy has a beta of 0.5, meaning that its share price is 50% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Analyst Ratings

This is a breakdown of current ratings and target prices for ARC Resources and Houston American Energy, as provided by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
ARC Resources	0	0	0	2	4.00
Houston American Energy	0	0	0	0	0.00

Profitability

This table compares ARC Resources and Houston American Energy’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
ARC Resources	24.40%	14.61%	8.83%
Houston American Energy	-544.15%	-6.10%	-5.86%

Summary

ARC Resources beats Houston American Energy on 10 of the 13 factors compared between the two stocks.

About ARC Resources

ARC Resources Ltd. engages in the acquiring and developing crude oil, natural gas, condensate, and natural gas liquids in Canada. It primarily holds interests in the Montney basin located in Alberta and northeast British Columbia. ARC Resources Ltd. was founded in 1996 and is based in Calgary, Canada.

About Houston American Energy

Houston American Energy Corp., an independent oil and gas company, engages in the acquisition, exploration, exploitation, development, and production of natural gas, crude oil, and condensate. Its principal properties are located primarily in the Texas Permian Basin, the South American country of Colombia, and the onshore Louisiana Gulf Coast region. The company is based in Houston, Texas.