California Resources (NYSE:CRC) versus HighPeak Energy (NASDAQ:HPK) Critical Review

HighPeak Energy (NASDAQ:HPK) and California Resources (NYSE:CRC) are both energy companies, but which is the superior business? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their risk, valuation, dividends, profitability, institutional ownership, earnings and analyst recommendations.

Insider & Institutional Ownership

24.1% of HighPeak Energy shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 97.8% of California Resources shares are held by institutional investors. 78.9% of HighPeak Energy 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 endowments, hedge funds and large money managers believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.

Profitability

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

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
HighPeak Energy	2.33%	2.11%	1.09%
California Resources	-16.10%	9.69%	4.89%

Valuation & Earnings

This table compares HighPeak Energy and California Resources”s top-line revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
HighPeak Energy	$863.36 million	0.90	$18.96 million	$0.09	68.67
California Resources	$3.67 billion	1.49	$363.00 million	$4.08	15.11

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

Volatility and Risk

HighPeak Energy has a beta of 0.34, suggesting that its stock price is 66% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, California Resources has a beta of 0.96, suggesting that its stock price is 4% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Analyst Ratings

This is a summary of recent recommendations and price targets for HighPeak Energy and California Resources, as provided by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
HighPeak Energy	2	0	0	1	2.00
California Resources	0	3	9	2	2.93

HighPeak Energy currently has a consensus price target of $12.00, suggesting a potential upside of 94.17%. California Resources has a consensus price target of $71.20, suggesting a potential upside of 15.52%. Given HighPeak Energy’s higher possible upside, equities research analysts clearly believe HighPeak Energy is more favorable than California Resources.

Summary

California Resources beats HighPeak Energy on 11 of the 15 factors compared between the two stocks.

About HighPeak Energy

HighPeak Energy, Inc., an independent oil and natural gas company, engages in the exploration, development, and production of crude oil, natural gas, and natural gas liquids reserves in the Permian Basin in West Texas and Eastern New Mexico. The company was incorporated in 2019 and is headquartered in Fort Worth, Texas.

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.