Contrasting California Resources (OTCMKTS:CRCQQ) & Crescent Energy (NYSE:CRGY)

California Resources (OTCMKTS:CRCQQ) and Crescent Energy (NYSE:CRGY) are both oils/energy companies, but which is the superior stock? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their valuation, institutional ownership, risk, dividends, earnings, profitability and analyst recommendations.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a summary of recent recommendations for California Resources and Crescent Energy, as reported by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
California Resources	0	0	0	0	0.00
Crescent Energy	0	2	7	2	3.00

Crescent Energy has a consensus price target of $16.30, indicating a potential upside of 6.78%. Given Crescent Energy’s stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, analysts clearly believe Crescent Energy is more favorable than California Resources.

Insider and Institutional Ownership

35.7% of California Resources shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 52.1% of Crescent Energy shares are owned by institutional investors. 4.1% of California Resources shares are owned by company insiders. Comparatively, 13.2% of Crescent Energy shares are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, endowments and hedge funds believe a company will outperform the market over the long term.

Profitability

This table compares California Resources and Crescent Energy’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
California Resources	-95.33%	-4.31%	-3.78%
Crescent Energy	2.17%	12.53%	3.61%

Valuation & Earnings

This table compares California Resources and Crescent Energy”s gross revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
California Resources	$2.63 billion	0.00	-$28.00 million	N/A	N/A
Crescent Energy	$2.38 billion	1.46	$67.61 million	$0.62	24.62

Crescent Energy has lower revenue, but higher earnings than California Resources.

Summary

Crescent Energy beats California Resources on 12 of the 13 factors compared between the two stocks.

About California Resources

California Resources Corporation operates as an oil and natural gas exploration and production company in the State of California. The company sells crude oil, natural gas, and natural gas liquids to marketers, California refineries, and other purchasers that have access to transportation and storage facilities. It holds interests in approximately 2.2 million net acres of mineral acreage. As of December 31, 2019, the company had net proved reserves of 644 million barrels of oil equivalent. It also engages in the generation and sale of electricity to the grid and utility customers. The company was founded in 2014 and is based in Los Angeles, California. On July 15, 2020, California Resources Corporation, along with its affiliates, filed a voluntary petition for reorganization under Chapter 11 in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of Texas.

About Crescent Energy

Crescent Energy Company acquires, develops, and produces crude oil, natural gas, and natural gas liquids (NGLs) reserves. Its portfolio of assets comprises mid-cycle unconventional and conventional assets in the Eagle Ford and Uinta Basins. It also owns and operates various midstream assets, which provide services to customers. The company is based in Houston, Texas.