Mach Natural Resources (NYSE:MNR) versus Clean Energy Fuels (NASDAQ:CLNE) Head to Head Comparison

Clean Energy Fuels (NASDAQ:CLNE) and Mach Natural Resources (NYSE:MNR) are both small-cap energy companies, but which is the superior investment? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their dividends, risk, valuation, analyst recommendations, profitability, institutional ownership and earnings.

Profitability

This table compares Clean Energy Fuels and Mach Natural Resources’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Clean Energy Fuels	-21.27%	-16.52%	-8.87%
Mach Natural Resources	7.44%	16.06%	8.23%

Analyst Ratings

This is a breakdown of current recommendations and price targets for Clean Energy Fuels and Mach Natural Resources, as reported by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Clean Energy Fuels	1	2	0	1	2.25
Mach Natural Resources	0	4	3	1	2.62

Clean Energy Fuels presently has a consensus target price of $2.38, indicating a potential upside of 70.24%. Mach Natural Resources has a consensus target price of $16.67, indicating a potential upside of 57.38%. Given Clean Energy Fuels’ higher possible upside, equities research analysts plainly believe Clean Energy Fuels is more favorable than Mach Natural Resources.

Volatility and Risk

Clean Energy Fuels has a beta of 1.89, suggesting that its share price is 89% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Mach Natural Resources has a beta of -0.22, suggesting that its share price is 122% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Valuation & Earnings

This table compares Clean Energy Fuels and Mach Natural Resources”s revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Clean Energy Fuels	$424.83 million	0.73	-$222.02 million	($0.44)	-3.18
Mach Natural Resources	$1.35 billion	1.31	$142.98 million	$0.59	17.95

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

Institutional & Insider Ownership

49.9% of Clean Energy Fuels shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 78.4% of Mach Natural Resources shares are held by institutional investors. 4.1% of Clean Energy Fuels shares are held by company insiders. Comparatively, 87.8% of Mach Natural Resources shares are held by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, hedge funds and endowments believe a stock will outperform the market over the long term.

Summary

Mach Natural Resources beats Clean Energy Fuels on 12 of the 14 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Clean Energy Fuels

Clean Energy Fuels Corp. provides natural gas as alternative fuels for vehicle fleets and related fueling solutions in the United States and Canada. It supplies renewable natural gas (RNG), compressed natural gas (CNG), and liquefied natural gas (LNG) for medium and heavy-duty vehicles; and offers operation and maintenance services for public and private vehicle fleet customer stations. The company also designs, builds, operates, and maintains vehicle fueling stations; and sells and services compressors and other equipment that are used in RNG production and fueling stations. In addition, it transports and sells CNG, RNG, and LNG through virtual natural gas pipelines and interconnects; sells U.S. federal, state, and local government credits, such as RNG as a vehicle fuel, including Renewable Identification Numbers and Low Carbon Fuel Standards credits; and obtains federal, state, and local credits, grants, and incentives. Further, the company focuses on developing, owning, and operating dairy and other livestock waste RNG projects. It serves heavy-duty trucking, airports, refuse, public transit, industrial, and institutional energy users, as well as government fleets. Clean Energy Fuels Corp. was incorporated in 2001 and is headquartered in Newport Beach, California.

About Mach Natural Resources

Mach Natural Resources LP, an independent upstream oil and gas company, focuses on the acquisition, development, and production of oil, natural gas, and natural gas liquids reserves in the Anadarko Basin region of Western Oklahoma, Southern Kansas, and the panhandle of Texas. It also owns a portfolio of midstream assets, as well as owns plants and water infrastructure. The company was incorporated in 2023 and is headquartered in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma.