Reviewing Mexco Energy (NYSE:MXC) & Ovintiv (NYSE:OVV)

Mexco Energy (NYSE:MXC) and Ovintiv (NYSE:OVV) are both energy companies, but which is the better stock? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their analyst recommendations, dividends, risk, valuation, earnings, profitability and institutional ownership.

Profitability

This table compares Mexco Energy and Ovintiv’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Mexco Energy	18.73%	7.57%	6.94%
Ovintiv	20.15%	17.87%	9.35%

Valuation and Earnings

This table compares Mexco Energy and Ovintiv”s top-line revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Mexco Energy	$7.16 million	1.87	$1.35 million	$0.63	10.41
Ovintiv	$9.15 billion	0.95	$2.09 billion	$4.20	7.99

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

Volatility and Risk

Mexco Energy has a beta of 0.36, meaning that its share price is 64% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Ovintiv has a beta of 2.04, meaning that its share price is 104% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a breakdown of current ratings for Mexco Energy and Ovintiv, as provided by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Mexco Energy	0	0	0	0	0.00
Ovintiv	0	2	13	2	3.00

Ovintiv has a consensus target price of $56.12, indicating a potential upside of 67.32%. Given Ovintiv’s stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, analysts plainly believe Ovintiv is more favorable than Mexco Energy.

Insider and Institutional Ownership

5.9% of Mexco Energy shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 83.8% of Ovintiv shares are held by institutional investors. 53.0% of Mexco Energy shares are held by insiders. Comparatively, 1.7% of Ovintiv shares are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, endowments and hedge funds believe a stock will outperform the market over the long term.

Summary

Ovintiv beats Mexco Energy on 12 of the 15 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Mexco Energy

Mexco Energy Corporation, an independent oil and gas company, engages in the acquisition, exploration, development, and production of natural gas, crude oil, condensate, and natural gas liquids in the United States. It owns partial interests in approximately 6,400 gross producing wells located in the states of Texas, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Louisiana, Alabama, Mississippi, Arkansas, Wyoming, Kansas, Colorado, Montana, Virginia, North Dakota, and Ohio. It also owned leasehold mineral, royalty, and other interests in approximately 2,768 net acres. The company was formerly known as Miller Oil Company and changed its name to Mexco Energy Corporation in April 1980. Mexco Energy Corporation was incorporated in 1972 and is based in Midland, Texas.

About Ovintiv

Ovintiv Inc., together with its subsidiaries, explores, develops, produces, and markets natural gas, oil, and natural gas liquids in the United States and Canada. The company operates through USA Operations, Canadian Operations, and Market Optimization segments. Its principal assets include Permian in west Texas and Anadarko in west-central Oklahoma; and Montney in northeast British Columbia and northwest Alberta. In addition, the company's upstream assets comprise Bakken in northwest North Dakota, and Uinta in central Utah; and Horn River in northeast British Columbia. The company was formerly known as Encana Corporation and changed its name to Ovintiv Inc. in January 2020. Ovintiv Inc. was incorporated in 2020 and is based in Denver, Colorado.