Matador Resources (NYSE:MTDR) & Kosmos Energy (NYSE:KOS) Head to Head Survey

Kosmos Energy (NYSE:KOS) and Matador Resources (NYSE:MTDR) are both energy companies, but which is the superior business? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their analyst recommendations, risk, profitability, dividends, valuation, institutional ownership and earnings.

Insider and Institutional Ownership

95.3% of Kosmos Energy shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 92.0% of Matador Resources shares are owned by institutional investors. 2.0% of Kosmos Energy shares are owned by company insiders. Comparatively, 6.1% of Matador Resources 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.

Dividends

Kosmos Energy pays an annual dividend of $0.18 per share and has a dividend yield of 10.0%. Matador Resources pays an annual dividend of $1.25 per share and has a dividend yield of 3.0%. Kosmos Energy pays out 46.4% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Matador Resources pays out 17.5% 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.

Risk and Volatility

Kosmos Energy has a beta of 1.94, suggesting that its stock price is 94% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Matador Resources has a beta of 2.74, suggesting that its stock price is 174% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a summary of current ratings and price targets for Kosmos Energy and Matador Resources, as provided by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Kosmos Energy	0	3	3	0	2.50
Matador Resources	0	1	13	0	2.93

Kosmos Energy currently has a consensus target price of $5.27, suggesting a potential upside of 192.27%. Matador Resources has a consensus target price of $73.29, suggesting a potential upside of 76.84%. Given Kosmos Energy’s higher probable upside, analysts clearly believe Kosmos Energy is more favorable than Matador Resources.

Profitability

This table compares Kosmos Energy and Matador Resources’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Kosmos Energy	12.21%	31.08%	6.53%
Matador Resources	25.26%	18.52%	9.71%

Earnings and Valuation

This table compares Kosmos Energy and Matador Resources”s revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Kosmos Energy	$1.68 billion	0.51	$213.52 million	$0.39	4.62
Matador Resources	$3.48 billion	1.49	$846.07 million	$7.14	5.80

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

Summary

Matador Resources beats Kosmos Energy on 12 of the 16 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Kosmos Energy

Kosmos Energy Ltd., together with its subsidiaries, engages in the exploration, development, and production of oil and gas along the Atlantic Margins in the United States. The company’s primary assets include production projects located in offshore Ghana, Equatorial Guinea, and the U.S. Gulf of Mexico, as well as gas projects located in offshore Mauritania and Senegal. It undertakes a proven basin exploration program in Equatorial Guinea and the U.S. Gulf of Mexico. Kosmos Energy Ltd. was founded in 2003 and is headquartered in Dallas, Texas.

About Matador Resources

Matador Resources Company, an independent energy company, engages in the exploration, development, production, and acquisition of oil and natural gas resources in the United States. It operates through two segments, Exploration and Production; and Midstream. The company primarily holds interests in the Wolfcamp and Bone Spring plays in the Delaware Basin in Southeast New Mexico and West Texas. It also operates the Eagle Ford shale play in South Texas; and the Haynesville shale and Cotton Valley plays in Northwest Louisiana. In addition, the company conducts midstream operations in support of its exploration, development, and production operations. Further, it provides natural gas processing and oil transportation services; and oil, natural gas, and produced water gathering services, as well as produced water disposal services to third parties. The company sells natural gas to unaffiliated independent marketing companies and unaffiliated midstream companies. The company was formerly known as Matador Holdco, Inc. and changed its name to Matador Resources Company in August 2011. Matador Resources Company was founded in 2003 and is headquartered in Dallas, Texas.