Reviewing Canacol Energy (OTCMKTS:CNNEF) & Beach Energy (OTCMKTS:BEPTF)

Beach Energy (OTCMKTS:BEPTF) and Canacol Energy (OTCMKTS:CNNEF) are both energy companies, but which is the superior stock? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their institutional ownership, dividends, profitability, analyst recommendations, valuation, earnings and risk.

Institutional and Insider Ownership

24.2% of Beach Energy shares are held by institutional investors. 2.5% of Canacol Energy shares are held by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, large money managers and endowments believe a stock will outperform the market over the long term.

Dividends

Beach Energy pays an annual dividend of $0.03 per share and has a dividend yield of 2.9%. Canacol Energy pays an annual dividend of $0.76 per share and has a dividend yield of 21.1%. Beach Energy pays out 38.5% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Canacol Energy pays out 30.2% 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. Canacol Energy is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and lower payout ratio.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a breakdown of current recommendations for Beach Energy and Canacol Energy, as reported by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Beach Energy	1	1	0	0	1.50
Canacol Energy	0	1	2	0	2.67

Valuation and Earnings

This table compares Beach Energy and Canacol Energy’s gross revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Beach Energy	N/A	N/A	N/A	$0.08	13.48
Canacol Energy	N/A	N/A	N/A	$2.52	1.43

Canacol Energy is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Beach Energy, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Profitability

This table compares Beach Energy and Canacol Energy’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Beach Energy	N/A	N/A	N/A
Canacol Energy	N/A	N/A	N/A

Summary

Canacol Energy beats Beach Energy on 6 of the 8 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Beach Energy

Beach Energy Limited operates as an oil and gas exploration and production company. It engages in the operated and non-operated, onshore and offshore, and oil and gas production in five producing basins across Australia and New Zealand. The company also explores, develops, produces, and transports hydrocarbons; and sells gas and liquid hydrocarbons. The company was formerly known as Beach Petroleum Limited and changed its name to Beach Energy Limited in December 2009. The company was incorporated in 1961 and is headquartered in Adelaide, Australia.

About Canacol Energy

Canacol Energy Ltd operates as an oil and gas company in Colombia. It engages in the exploration and development of natural gas. The company was formerly known as BrazAlta Resources Corp. and changed its name to Canacol Energy Ltd in February 2009. The company was incorporated in 1970 and is headquartered in Calgary, Canada. Canacol Energy Ltd operates as a subsidiary of CDS Clearing and Depository Services Inc.