Critical Review: Advantage Energy (OTCMKTS:AAVVF) and Riley Exploration Permian (NYSE:REPX)

Advantage Energy (OTCMKTS:AAVVF) and Riley Exploration Permian (NYSE:REPX) are both small-cap oils/energy companies, but which is the better business? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their institutional ownership, valuation, dividends, earnings, analyst recommendations, profitability and risk.

Volatility and Risk

Advantage Energy has a beta of 1.55, meaning that its stock price is 55% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Riley Exploration Permian has a beta of 1.46, meaning that its stock price is 46% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Valuation & Earnings

This table compares Advantage Energy and Riley Exploration Permian”s revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Advantage Energy	$400.81 million	2.83	$75.26 million	$0.20	34.00
Riley Exploration Permian	$375.05 million	1.98	$111.59 million	$5.64	6.12

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

Institutional and Insider Ownership

7.9% of Advantage Energy shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 58.9% of Riley Exploration Permian shares are owned by institutional investors. 3.9% of Riley Exploration Permian shares are owned by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, endowments and large money managers believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a summary of recent ratings for Advantage Energy and Riley Exploration Permian, as reported by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Advantage Energy	0	1	1	1	3.00
Riley Exploration Permian	0	0	1	0	3.00

Advantage Energy presently has a consensus target price of $13.75, suggesting a potential upside of 102.21%. Riley Exploration Permian has a consensus target price of $47.00, suggesting a potential upside of 36.15%. Given Advantage Energy’s higher probable upside, equities research analysts clearly believe Advantage Energy is more favorable than Riley Exploration Permian.

Profitability

This table compares Advantage Energy and Riley Exploration Permian’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Advantage Energy	8.62%	2.88%	1.78%
Riley Exploration Permian	28.48%	23.82%	11.31%

Summary

Riley Exploration Permian beats Advantage Energy on 7 of the 13 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Advantage Energy

Advantage Energy Ltd., together with its subsidiaries, engages in the acquisition, exploitation, development, and production natural gas, crude oil, and natural gas liquids (NGLs) in the Province of Alberta, Canada. Its assets are located approximately 4 to 80 km northwest of the city of Grande Prairie, Alberta. The company was formerly known as Advantage Oil & Gas Ltd. and changed its name to Advantage Energy Ltd. in May 2021. Advantage Energy Ltd. was founded in 2001 and is headquartered in Calgary, Canada.

About Riley Exploration Permian

Riley Exploration Permian, Inc., an independent oil and natural gas company, engages in the acquisition, exploration, development, and production of oil, natural gas, and natural gas liquids in Texas and New Mexico. The company's activities are primarily focused on the Northwest Shelf and Yeso trend of the Permian Basin. Its acreage is primarily located on contiguous blocks in Yoakum County, Texas; and Eddy County, New Mexico. Riley Exploration Permian, Inc. is headquartered in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma.