Reviewing Gran Tierra Energy (NYSE:GTE) & California Resources (OTCMKTS:CRCQQ)

California Resources (OTCMKTS:CRCQQ) and Gran Tierra Energy (NYSE:GTE) are both small-cap energy companies, but which is the superior investment? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their valuation, analyst recommendations, institutional ownership, earnings, dividends, profitability and risk.

Analyst Ratings

This is a breakdown of current recommendations and price targets for California Resources and Gran Tierra Energy, as reported by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
California Resources	0	0	0	0	0.00
Gran Tierra Energy	0	1	2	0	2.67

Gran Tierra Energy has a consensus target price of $5.45, suggesting a potential upside of 29.76%. Given Gran Tierra Energy’s stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, analysts plainly believe Gran Tierra Energy is more favorable than California Resources.

Profitability

This table compares California Resources and Gran Tierra Energy’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
California Resources	-95.33%	-4.31%	-3.78%
Gran Tierra Energy	7.17%	11.36%	3.28%

Earnings & Valuation

This table compares California Resources and Gran Tierra Energy”s revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
California Resources	$2.63 billion	0.00	-$28.00 million	N/A	N/A
Gran Tierra Energy	$614.07 million	0.24	-$6.29 million	($2.51)	-1.67

Gran Tierra Energy has lower revenue, but higher earnings than California Resources.

Institutional & Insider Ownership

35.7% of California Resources shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 31.7% of Gran Tierra Energy shares are held by institutional investors. 4.1% of California Resources shares are held by insiders. Comparatively, 6.1% of Gran Tierra Energy shares are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, large money managers and endowments believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Summary

Gran Tierra Energy beats California Resources on 10 of the 12 factors compared between the two stocks.

About California Resources

California Resources Corporation operates as an oil and natural gas exploration and production company in the State of California. The company sells crude oil, natural gas, and natural gas liquids to marketers, California refineries, and other purchasers that have access to transportation and storage facilities. It holds interests in approximately 2.2 million net acres of mineral acreage. As of December 31, 2019, the company had net proved reserves of 644 million barrels of oil equivalent. It also engages in the generation and sale of electricity to the grid and utility customers. The company was founded in 2014 and is based in Los Angeles, California. On July 15, 2020, California Resources Corporation, along with its affiliates, filed a voluntary petition for reorganization under Chapter 11 in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of Texas.

About Gran Tierra Energy

Gran Tierra Energy Inc., together with its subsidiaries, engages in the exploration and production of oil and gas properties in Colombia and Ecuador. The company was founded in 2003 and is headquartered in Calgary, Canada.