Critical Contrast: Prairie Operating (OTCMKTS:CRKR) vs. Lufax (NYSE:LU)

Prairie Operating (OTCMKTS:CRKR) and Lufax (NYSE:LU) are both mid-cap finance companies, but which is the better investment? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their risk, valuation, dividends, analyst recommendations, earnings, profitability and institutional ownership.

Earnings and Valuation

This table compares Prairie Operating and Lufax”s top-line revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Prairie Operating	$520,000.00	0.00	-$13.42 million	N/A	N/A
Lufax	$20.29 billion	0.14	$125.31 million	($0.77)	-4.16

Lufax has higher revenue and earnings than Prairie Operating.

Profitability

This table compares Prairie Operating and Lufax’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Prairie Operating	N/A	N/A	-286.57%
Lufax	-12.75%	-3.63%	-1.45%

Analyst Ratings

This is a summary of current recommendations for Prairie Operating and Lufax, as reported by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Prairie Operating	0	0	0	0	0.00
Lufax	0	2	0	0	2.00

Lufax has a consensus target price of $2.98, suggesting a potential downside of 7.18%. Given Prairie Operating’s higher possible upside, research analysts clearly believe Prairie Operating is more favorable than Lufax.

Institutional and Insider Ownership

49.5% of Prairie Operating shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 69.1% of Lufax shares are owned by institutional investors. 24.6% of Prairie Operating shares are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, endowments and hedge funds believe a stock will outperform the market over the long term.

Volatility and Risk

Prairie Operating has a beta of 1.59, meaning that its share price is 59% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Lufax has a beta of 0.77, meaning that its share price is 23% less volatile than the S&P 500.

About Prairie Operating

Prairie Operating Co. engages in developing energy to meet growing demand, while protecting the environment. The company was formerly known as Creek Road Miners, Inc. and changed its name to Prairie Operating Co. in May 2023. Prairie Operating Co. is based in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma.

About Lufax

Lufax Holding Ltd operates as a financial service empowering institution for small and micro businesses in China. The company offers loan products, including general unsecured loans and secured loans, as well as consumer finance loans. It also provides wealth management products, such as asset management plans, mutual fund products, private investment fund products, and trust products. The company was founded in 2005 and is headquartered in Shanghai, China.