Reviewing Viper Energy (NASDAQ:VNOM) and Japan Petroleum Exploration (OTCMKTS:JPTXF)

Japan Petroleum Exploration (OTCMKTS:JPTXF) and Viper Energy (NASDAQ:VNOM) are both energy companies, but which is the better business? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their profitability, valuation, institutional ownership, dividends, risk, analyst recommendations and earnings.

Institutional and Insider Ownership

11.1% of Japan Petroleum Exploration shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 87.7% of Viper Energy shares are owned by institutional investors. 0.2% of Viper Energy shares are owned by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, endowments and hedge funds believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.

Analyst Ratings

This is a breakdown of recent ratings and recommmendations for Japan Petroleum Exploration and Viper Energy, as reported by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Japan Petroleum Exploration	0	0	0	0	0.00
Viper Energy	0	2	17	0	2.89

Viper Energy has a consensus price target of $57.07, suggesting a potential upside of 34.54%. Given Viper Energy’s stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, analysts plainly believe Viper Energy is more favorable than Japan Petroleum Exploration.

Valuation and Earnings

This table compares Japan Petroleum Exploration and Viper Energy”s top-line revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Japan Petroleum Exploration	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A
Viper Energy	$1.40 billion	10.92	-$68.00 million	$0.13	326.27

Japan Petroleum Exploration has higher earnings, but lower revenue than Viper Energy.

Profitability

This table compares Japan Petroleum Exploration and Viper Energy’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Japan Petroleum Exploration	N/A	N/A	N/A
Viper Energy	2.89%	3.43%	2.85%

Summary

Viper Energy beats Japan Petroleum Exploration on 9 of the 9 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Japan Petroleum Exploration

Japan Petroleum Exploration Co., Ltd., together with its subsidiaries, explores, develops, produces, and sells oil, natural gas, and other energy resources in Japan, Europe, North America, and the Middle East. It also owns and manages a gas pipeline network; and provides underground CO2 storage. In addition, the company is involved in well drilling contracting business; manufacturing and selling petroleum products; insurance agency activities; and sale and contracted transportation of crude oil. Further, it engages in the geological survey contracting services; geophysical exploration work, technology development, logging, and mud-logging contracting; purchase and sale of LNG, petroleum gas, etc.; development of solar, wind, geothermal, biomass, and other renewable energy sources; real estate management; and operation and commissioning of natural power plants. Additionally, the company offers industrial disaster prevention, security, and drilling mud preparations; mud services; and geophysical exploration equipment. Japan Petroleum Exploration Co., Ltd. was founded in 1955 and is headquartered in Tokyo, Japan.

About Viper Energy

Viper Energy, Inc. engages in the acquisition of oil and natural gas properties. It owns, acquires, and exploits oil and natural gas properties in North America. The company was founded on February 27, 2014 and is headquartered in Midland, TX.