Birchcliff Energy (OTCMKTS:BIREF) vs. Tourmaline Oil (OTCMKTS:TRMLF) Head to Head Contrast

Birchcliff Energy (OTCMKTS:BIREF) and Tourmaline Oil (OTCMKTS:TRMLF) are both energy companies, but which is the superior business? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their analyst recommendations, profitability, institutional ownership, valuation, dividends, risk and earnings.

Risk & Volatility

Birchcliff Energy has a beta of 0.6, indicating that its share price is 40% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Tourmaline Oil has a beta of -0.32, indicating that its share price is 132% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a summary of recent ratings and price targets for Birchcliff Energy and Tourmaline Oil, as provided by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Birchcliff Energy	0	0	1	6	3.86
Tourmaline Oil	1	1	1	1	2.50

Dividends

Birchcliff Energy pays an annual dividend of $0.08 per share and has a dividend yield of 1.5%. Tourmaline Oil pays an annual dividend of $1.45 per share and has a dividend yield of 3.1%. Birchcliff Energy pays out 22.9% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Tourmaline Oil pays out 59.7% 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.

Profitability

This table compares Birchcliff Energy and Tourmaline Oil’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Birchcliff Energy	21.85%	6.09%	3.97%
Tourmaline Oil	21.16%	8.30%	5.79%

Valuation and Earnings

This table compares Birchcliff Energy and Tourmaline Oil”s revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Birchcliff Energy	$428.33 million	3.31	$40.94 million	$0.35	14.87
Tourmaline Oil	$4.41 billion	4.08	$922.55 million	$2.43	19.14

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

Institutional and Insider Ownership

0.8% of Birchcliff Energy shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 1.8% of Tourmaline Oil shares are held by institutional investors. 1.5% of Birchcliff Energy shares are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, large money managers and hedge funds believe a company will outperform the market over the long term.

Summary

Tourmaline Oil beats Birchcliff Energy on 9 of the 15 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Birchcliff Energy

Birchcliff Energy Ltd., an intermediate oil and natural gas company, explores for, develops, and produces natural gas, light oil, condensate, and other natural gas liquids in Western Canada. The company holds interests in the areas of Montney/Doig Resource Play, including the Pouce Coupe and Gordondale properties in Alberta. Birchcliff Energy Ltd. was founded in 2004 and is headquartered in Calgary, Canada.

About Tourmaline Oil

Tourmaline Oil Corp. explores for and develops oil and natural gas properties in the Western Canadian Sedimentary Basin. The company holds interests in properties located in the Alberta Deep Basin, Northeast British Columbia Montney, and the Peace River High Triassic oil complex. Tourmaline Oil Corp. was incorporated in 2008 and is headquartered in Calgary, Canada.