Birchcliff Energy (BIR) Competitors

Enerplus (TSE:ERF) and Birchcliff Energy (TSE:BIR) are both energy companies, but which is the superior investment? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their valuation, media sentiment, earnings, analyst recommendations, institutional ownership, risk, community ranking, profitability and dividends.

Do institutionals & insiders hold more shares of ERF or BIR?

67.9% of Enerplus shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 16.4% of Birchcliff Energy shares are held by institutional investors. 1.3% of Enerplus shares are held by insiders. Comparatively, 1.6% of Birchcliff Energy shares are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, large money managers and hedge funds believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.

Which has more volatility and risk, ERF or BIR?

Enerplus has a beta of 2.64, suggesting that its stock price is 164% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Birchcliff Energy has a beta of 1.93, suggesting that its stock price is 93% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Do analysts rate ERF or BIR?

Enerplus presently has a consensus price target of C$24.57, indicating a potential upside of 0.00%. Birchcliff Energy has a consensus price target of C$6.45, indicating a potential upside of 16.43%. Given Birchcliff Energy's higher probable upside, analysts clearly believe Birchcliff Energy is more favorable than Enerplus.

Company	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Enerplus	0 Sell rating(s)	1 Hold rating(s)	2 Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.67
Birchcliff Energy	0 Sell rating(s)	8 Hold rating(s)	1 Buy rating(s)	1 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.30

Does the media favor ERF or BIR?

In the previous week, Birchcliff Energy had 6 more articles in the media than Enerplus. MarketBeat recorded 6 mentions for Birchcliff Energy and 0 mentions for Enerplus. Birchcliff Energy's average media sentiment score of 0.07 beat Enerplus' score of 0.00 indicating that Birchcliff Energy is being referred to more favorably in the news media.

Company	Overall Sentiment
Enerplus	Neutral
Birchcliff Energy	Neutral

Is ERF or BIR more profitable?

Enerplus has a net margin of 26.04% compared to Birchcliff Energy's net margin of 6.24%. Enerplus' return on equity of 32.27% beat Birchcliff Energy's return on equity.

Company	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Enerplus	26.04%	32.27%	15.25%
Birchcliff Energy	6.24%	1.81%	1.82%

Which has stronger earnings and valuation, ERF or BIR?

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

Company	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Enerplus	C$1.48B	0.00	C$384.73M	C$2.44	N/A
Birchcliff Energy	C$655.97M	2.27	C$40.92M	C$0.16	34.63

Does the MarketBeat Community favor ERF or BIR?

Enerplus received 213 more outperform votes than Birchcliff Energy when rated by MarketBeat users. Likewise, 72.53% of users gave Enerplus an outperform vote while only 60.75% of users gave Birchcliff Energy an outperform vote.

Company	Underperform	Outperform
Enerplus	Outperform Votes 829 72.53%	Underperform Votes 314 27.47%
Birchcliff Energy	Outperform Votes 616 60.75%	Underperform Votes 398 39.25%

Is ERF or BIR a better dividend stock?

Enerplus pays an annual dividend of C$0.36 per share. Birchcliff Energy pays an annual dividend of C$0.40 per share and has a dividend yield of 7.2%. Enerplus pays out 14.8% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Birchcliff Energy pays out 250.0% of its earnings in the form of a dividend, suggesting it may not have sufficient earnings to cover its dividend payment in the future.

Summary

Enerplus beats Birchcliff Energy on 13 of the 20 factors compared between the two stocks.