Reviewing Expand Energy (NASDAQ:EXE) and Peyto Exploration & Development (OTCMKTS:PEYUF)

Peyto Exploration & Development (OTCMKTS:PEYUF) and Expand Energy (NASDAQ:EXE) are both energy companies, but which is the better business? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their analyst recommendations, earnings, institutional ownership, risk, dividends, valuation and profitability.

Institutional and Insider Ownership

44.3% of Peyto Exploration & Development shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 97.9% of Expand Energy shares are held by institutional investors. 0.2% of Expand Energy shares are held by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, endowments and hedge funds believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Valuation & Earnings

This table compares Peyto Exploration & Development and Expand Energy”s top-line revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Peyto Exploration & Development	N/A	N/A	N/A	$1.52	11.56
Expand Energy	$12.12 billion	1.81	$1.82 billion	$11.58	8.18

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

Dividends

Peyto Exploration & Development pays an annual dividend of $1.14 per share and has a dividend yield of 6.5%. Expand Energy pays an annual dividend of $2.30 per share and has a dividend yield of 2.4%. Peyto Exploration & Development pays out 75.0% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Expand Energy pays out 19.9% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Both companies have healthy payout ratios and should be able to cover their dividend payments with earnings for the next several years.

Analyst Ratings

This is a summary of recent ratings and target prices for Peyto Exploration & Development and Expand Energy, as provided by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Peyto Exploration & Development	0	3	3	0	2.50
Expand Energy	1	5	12	2	2.75

Expand Energy has a consensus price target of $128.12, indicating a potential upside of 35.17%. Given Expand Energy’s stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, analysts clearly believe Expand Energy is more favorable than Peyto Exploration & Development.

Profitability

This table compares Peyto Exploration & Development and Expand Energy’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Peyto Exploration & Development	N/A	N/A	N/A
Expand Energy	20.46%	10.33%	6.89%

Summary

Expand Energy beats Peyto Exploration & Development on 12 of the 14 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Peyto Exploration & Development

Peyto Exploration & Development Corp., an energy company, engages in the exploration, development, and production of natural gas, oil, and natural gas liquids in Deep Basin of Alberta. The company was formerly known as Peyto Energy Trust and changed its name to Peyto Exploration & Development Corp. in January 2011. Peyto Exploration & Development Corp. was incorporated in 1997 and is headquartered in Calgary, Canada.

About Expand Energy

Expand Energy Corporation is an independent natural gas producer principally in the United States. Expand Energy Corporation, formerly known as Chesapeake Energy Corporation, is based in OKLAHOMA CITY.