Head to Head Review: PostRock Energy (OTCMKTS:PSTRQ) & Antero Midstream (NYSE:AM)

PostRock Energy (OTCMKTS:PSTRQ) and Antero Midstream (NYSE:AM) are both energy companies, but which is the superior investment? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their risk, analyst recommendations, valuation, profitability, dividends, institutional ownership and earnings.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a breakdown of recent recommendations for PostRock Energy and Antero Midstream, as provided by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
PostRock Energy	0	0	0	0	0.00
Antero Midstream	1	3	1	0	2.00

Antero Midstream has a consensus price target of $18.50, indicating a potential upside of 4.55%. Given Antero Midstream’s stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, analysts plainly believe Antero Midstream is more favorable than PostRock Energy.

Volatility and Risk

PostRock Energy has a beta of -9.07, indicating that its share price is 1,007% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Antero Midstream has a beta of 0.88, indicating that its share price is 12% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Institutional and Insider Ownership

54.0% of Antero Midstream shares are held by institutional investors. 79.2% of PostRock Energy shares are held by insiders. Comparatively, 0.9% of Antero Midstream 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.

Profitability

This table compares PostRock Energy and Antero Midstream’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
PostRock Energy	N/A	N/A	N/A
Antero Midstream	40.07%	22.53%	8.22%

Earnings and Valuation

This table compares PostRock Energy and Antero Midstream”s revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
PostRock Energy	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A
Antero Midstream	$1.25 billion	6.74	$400.89 million	$0.98	18.06

Antero Midstream has higher revenue and earnings than PostRock Energy.

Summary

Antero Midstream beats PostRock Energy on 9 of the 10 factors compared between the two stocks.

About PostRock Energy

PostRock Energy Corp. engages in the acquisition, exploration, development, production, and gathering of crude oil and natural gas. It focuses on the Cherokee Basin project in southeastern Kansas, northeastern Oklahoma, and central Oklahoma. The firm also owns and operates minor oil and gas producing properties in the Appalachian Basin. The company was founded in July 2009 and is headquartered in Oklahoma City, OK.

About Antero Midstream

Antero Midstream Corporation owns, operates, and develops midstream energy assets in the Appalachian Basin. It operates in two segments, Gathering and Processing, and Water Handling. The Gathering and Processing segment includes a network of gathering pipelines and compressor stations that collects and processes production from Antero Resources' wells in West Virginia and Ohio. The Water Handling segment delivers fresh water from sources, including the Ohio River, local reservoirs, and various regional waterways; uses water handling systems to transport flowback and produced water; and offers pumping stations, water storage, and blending facilities. The company was founded in 2002 and is headquartered in Denver, Colorado.