Contrasting SunocoCorp (NYSE:SUNC) & California Resources (NYSE:CRC)

SunocoCorp (NYSE:SUNC) and California Resources (NYSE:CRC) are both mid-cap energy companies, but which is the superior investment? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their dividends, risk, earnings, institutional ownership, profitability, valuation and analyst recommendations.

Dividends

SunocoCorp pays an annual dividend of $4.01 per share and has a dividend yield of 5.3%. California Resources pays an annual dividend of $1.62 per share and has a dividend yield of 3.1%. SunocoCorp pays out 138.8% of its earnings in the form of a dividend, suggesting it may not have sufficient earnings to cover its dividend payment in the future. California Resources pays out -119.1% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. California Resources has increased its dividend for 1 consecutive years.

Institutional and Insider Ownership

97.8% of California Resources shares are held by institutional investors. 5.9% of SunocoCorp shares are held by company insiders. Comparatively, 0.5% of California Resources shares are held by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, endowments and hedge funds believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.

Profitability

This table compares SunocoCorp and California Resources’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
SunocoCorp	N/A	N/A	N/A
California Resources	-3.79%	9.82%	4.65%

Analyst Ratings

This is a summary of recent ratings and recommmendations for SunocoCorp and California Resources, as provided by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
SunocoCorp	1	1	3	1	2.67
California Resources	0	3	10	1	2.86

SunocoCorp currently has a consensus price target of $81.00, indicating a potential upside of 6.92%. California Resources has a consensus price target of $74.10, indicating a potential upside of 41.15%. Given California Resources’ stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, analysts clearly believe California Resources is more favorable than SunocoCorp.

Earnings & Valuation

This table compares SunocoCorp and California Resources”s gross revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
SunocoCorp	$25.20 billion	0.15	-$5.00 million	$2.89	26.21
California Resources	$3.73 billion	1.25	$363.00 million	($1.36)	-38.60

California Resources has lower revenue, but higher earnings than SunocoCorp. California Resources is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than SunocoCorp, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Summary

California Resources beats SunocoCorp on 10 of the 16 factors compared between the two stocks.

About SunocoCorp

Sunoco LP is an energy infrastructure and fuel distribution master limited partnership. Sunoco LP is based in DALLAS.

About California Resources

California Resources Corporation operates as an independent oil and natural gas exploration and production, and carbon management company in the United States. The company explores, produces, and markets crude oil, natural gas, and natural gas liquids for marketers, California refineries, and other purchasers that have access to transportation and storage facilities. It also engages in the generation and sale of electricity to the wholesale power market and utility sector; and developing various carbon capture and storage projects in California. The company was incorporated in 2014 and is based in Long Beach, California.