Critical Survey: Antero Resources (NYSE:AR) versus Epsilon Energy (NASDAQ:EPSN)

Epsilon Energy (NASDAQ:EPSN) and Antero Resources (NYSE:AR) are both oils/energy companies, but which is the superior stock? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their institutional ownership, profitability, dividends, valuation, earnings, risk and analyst recommendations.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a breakdown of current recommendations for Epsilon Energy and Antero Resources, as provided by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Epsilon Energy	0	0	1	1	3.50
Antero Resources	0	8	9	2	2.68

Epsilon Energy currently has a consensus price target of $7.00, suggesting a potential upside of 12.72%. Antero Resources has a consensus price target of $34.78, suggesting a potential downside of 0.78%. Given Epsilon Energy’s stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, research analysts plainly believe Epsilon Energy is more favorable than Antero Resources.

Risk & Volatility

Epsilon Energy has a beta of 0.39, suggesting that its share price is 61% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Antero Resources has a beta of 3.42, suggesting that its share price is 242% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Valuation and Earnings

This table compares Epsilon Energy and Antero Resources”s revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Epsilon Energy	$31.15 million	4.36	$6.95 million	$0.25	24.84
Antero Resources	$4.08 billion	2.68	$242.92 million	$0.14	250.36

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

Insider and Institutional Ownership

60.3% of Epsilon Energy shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 83.0% of Antero Resources shares are owned by institutional investors. 5.5% of Epsilon Energy shares are owned by insiders. Comparatively, 6.7% of Antero Resources shares are owned by 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 Epsilon Energy and Antero Resources’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Epsilon Energy	16.97%	5.31%	4.30%
Antero Resources	1.03%	-0.59%	-0.32%

Summary

Antero Resources beats Epsilon Energy on 8 of the 15 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Epsilon Energy

Epsilon Energy Ltd., a North American onshore independent natural gas and oil company, engages in the acquisition, development, gathering, and production of natural oil and gas reserves in the United States. The company operates through Upstream and Gathering System segments. It has natural gas production in the Marcellus Shale in Pennsylvania; and oil, natural gas liquids, and natural gas production in the Permian Basin in Texas and New Mexico, and Anadarko Basin in Oklahoma. Epsilon Energy Ltd. was incorporated in 2005 and is based in Calgary, Canada.

About Antero Resources

Antero Resources Corporation, an independent oil and natural gas company, engages in the development, production, exploration, and acquisition of natural gas, natural gas liquids (NGLs), and oil properties in the United States. It operates in three segments: Exploration and Development; Marketing; and Equity Method Investment in Antero Midstream. As of December 31, 2023, the company had approximately 515,000 net acres in the Appalachian Basin; and approximately 172,000 net acres in the Upper Devonian Shale. Its gathering and compression systems also comprise 631 miles of gas gathering pipelines in the Appalachian Basin. The company was formerly known as Antero Resources Appalachian Corporation and changed its name to Antero Resources Corporation in June 2013. Antero Resources Corporation was incorporated in 2002 and is headquartered in Denver, Colorado.