Crescent Energy (NYSE:CRGY) vs. U.S. Energy (NASDAQ:USEG) Financial Comparison

Crescent Energy (NYSE:CRGY) and U.S. Energy (NASDAQ:USEG) are both small-cap oils/energy companies, but which is the superior stock? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their risk, institutional ownership, dividends, profitability, analyst recommendations, earnings and valuation.

Risk and Volatility

Crescent Energy has a beta of 2.24, meaning that its share price is 124% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, U.S. Energy has a beta of 0.53, meaning that its share price is 47% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Profitability

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

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Crescent Energy	2.84%	13.30%	2.94%
U.S. Energy	-100.13%	-49.00%	-31.08%

Insider and Institutional Ownership

52.1% of Crescent Energy shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 3.0% of U.S. Energy shares are owned by institutional investors. 13.2% of Crescent Energy shares are owned by insiders. Comparatively, 57.6% of U.S. Energy shares are owned by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, hedge funds and large money managers believe a stock will outperform the market over the long term.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a breakdown of current ratings for Crescent Energy and U.S. Energy, as provided by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Crescent Energy	0	1	5	1	3.00
U.S. Energy	0	0	0	0	N/A

Crescent Energy presently has a consensus target price of $16.25, indicating a potential upside of 48.13%. Given Crescent Energy’s higher possible upside, equities research analysts plainly believe Crescent Energy is more favorable than U.S. Energy.

Valuation and Earnings

This table compares Crescent Energy and U.S. Energy’s gross revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Crescent Energy	$2.38 billion	0.83	$67.61 million	$1.29	8.50
U.S. Energy	$32.32 million	1.01	-$32.36 million	($1.28)	-1.01

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

Summary

Crescent Energy beats U.S. Energy on 12 of the 14 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Crescent Energy

Crescent Energy Company, an energy company, acquires, develops, and produces crude oil, natural gas, and natural gas liquids (NGLs) reserves. The company holds a portfolio of oil and natural gas assets in key proven regions, including the Eagle Ford, Marcellus, Utica, and Rockies in the United States. The company is based in Houston, Texas.

About U.S. Energy

U.S. Energy Corp., an independent energy company, focuses on the acquisition, exploration, and development of oil and natural gas properties in the United States. It holds interests in various oil and gas properties located in the Rockies region, including Montana, Wyoming, and North Dakota; the Mid-Continent region comprising Oklahoma, Kansas, and North and East Texas; West Texas; South Texas; and the Gulf Coast regions. The company was incorporated in 1966 and is headquartered in Houston, Texas.