Critical Contrast: PermRock Royalty Trust (NYSE:PRT) versus Battalion Oil (NYSE:BATL)

Battalion Oil (NYSE:BATL) and PermRock Royalty Trust (NYSE:PRT) are both small-cap oils/energy companies, but which is the superior stock? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their valuation, analyst recommendations, earnings, risk, institutional ownership, profitability and dividends.

Analyst Ratings

This is a breakdown of recent ratings and price targets for Battalion Oil and PermRock Royalty Trust, as reported by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Battalion Oil	0	0	0	0	N/A
PermRock Royalty Trust	0	0	0	0	N/A

Insider & Institutional Ownership

86.0% of Battalion Oil shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 41.7% of PermRock Royalty Trust shares are held by institutional investors. 56.9% of Battalion Oil shares are held 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.

Valuation and Earnings

This table compares Battalion Oil and PermRock Royalty Trust”s top-line revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Battalion Oil	$200.32 million	0.55	-$3.05 million	($4.46)	-1.49
PermRock Royalty Trust	$6.20 million	7.65	$6.26 million	$0.42	9.29

PermRock Royalty Trust has lower revenue, but higher earnings than Battalion Oil. Battalion Oil is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than PermRock Royalty Trust, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Risk and Volatility

Battalion Oil has a beta of 0.98, suggesting that its stock price is 2% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, PermRock Royalty Trust has a beta of 0.98, suggesting that its stock price is 2% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Profitability

This table compares Battalion Oil and PermRock Royalty Trust’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Battalion Oil	-26.17%	-99.89%	-8.48%
PermRock Royalty Trust	85.38%	6.99%	6.86%

Summary

PermRock Royalty Trust beats Battalion Oil on 7 of the 10 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Battalion Oil

Battalion Oil Corporation, an independent energy company, engages in the acquisition, production, exploration, and development of onshore oil and natural gas assets in the United States. It holds interests in the Delaware Basin located in the counties of Pecos, Ward, Reeves, and Winkler, Texas. It serves independent marketers, and oil and natural gas and gas pipeline companies. The company was formerly known as Halcón Resources Corporation and changed its name to Battalion Oil Corporation in January 2020. Battalion Oil Corporation was founded in 1987 and is headquartered in Houston, Texas.

About PermRock Royalty Trust

PermRock Royalty Trust operates as a statutory trust. It owns interests in the oil and natural gas producing properties. The company's underlying properties include 22,394 net acres in the Permian Basin. The company was founded in 2017 and is based in Dallas, Texas.