Reviewing Murphy Oil (NYSE:MUR) and Vital Energy (NYSE:VTLE)

Murphy Oil (NYSE:MUR) and Vital Energy (NYSE:VTLE) are both oils/energy companies, but which is the better investment? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their risk, valuation, analyst recommendations, institutional ownership, earnings, profitability and dividends.

Earnings and Valuation

This table compares Murphy Oil and Vital Energy’s top-line revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Murphy Oil	$3.46 billion	1.97	$661.56 million	$4.22	10.61
Vital Energy	$1.55 billion	1.22	$695.08 million	$32.89	1.57

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

Institutional & Insider Ownership

79.3% of Murphy Oil shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 86.6% of Vital Energy shares are owned by institutional investors. 6.2% of Murphy Oil shares are owned by insiders. Comparatively, 1.3% of Vital Energy shares are owned by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, large money managers and hedge funds believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Analyst Ratings

This is a summary of recent recommendations for Murphy Oil and Vital Energy, as provided by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Murphy Oil	0	4	5	0	2.56
Vital Energy	2	2	5	0	2.33

Murphy Oil presently has a consensus price target of $46.90, indicating a potential upside of 4.73%. Vital Energy has a consensus price target of $60.22, indicating a potential upside of 16.62%. Given Vital Energy’s higher probable upside, analysts clearly believe Vital Energy is more favorable than Murphy Oil.

Risk and Volatility

Murphy Oil has a beta of 2.2, indicating that its stock price is 120% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Vital Energy has a beta of 3.24, indicating that its stock price is 224% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Profitability

This table compares Murphy Oil and Vital Energy’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Murphy Oil	19.12%	13.02%	7.06%
Vital Energy	44.91%	17.60%	7.96%

Summary

Vital Energy beats Murphy Oil on 8 of the 13 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Murphy Oil

Murphy Oil Corporation, together with its subsidiaries, operates as an oil and gas exploration and production company in the United States, Canada, and internationally. It explores for and produces crude oil, natural gas, and natural gas liquids. The company was formerly known as Murphy Corporation and changed its name to Murphy Oil Corporation in 1964. The company was incorporated in 1950 and is headquartered in Houston, Texas.

About Vital Energy

Vital Energy, Inc., an independent energy company, engages in the acquisition, exploration, and development of oil and natural gas properties in the Permian Basin of West Texas, the United States. The company was formerly known as Laredo Petroleum, Inc. and changed its name to Vital Energy, Inc. in January 2023. Vital Energy, Inc. was founded in 2006 and is headquartered in Tulsa, Oklahoma.