VOC Energy Trust (NYSE:VOC) versus Anadarko Petroleum (NASDAQ:APC) Critical Contrast

VOC Energy Trust (NYSE:VOC) and Anadarko Petroleum (NASDAQ:APC) are both small-cap energy companies, but which is the superior investment? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their dividends, risk, profitability, earnings, analyst recommendations, institutional ownership and valuation.

Dividends

VOC Energy Trust pays an annual dividend of $0.76 per share and has a dividend yield of 24.4%. Anadarko Petroleum pays an annual dividend of $2.00 per share and has a dividend yield of 13.6%. VOC Energy Trust pays out 185.4% of its earnings in the form of a dividend, suggesting it may not have sufficient earnings to cover its dividend payment in the future. Anadarko Petroleum pays out 206.2% of its earnings in the form of a dividend, suggesting it may not have sufficient earnings to cover its dividend payment in the future. VOC Energy Trust is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and lower payout ratio.

Analyst Ratings

This is a summary of current ratings and price targets for VOC Energy Trust and Anadarko Petroleum, as provided by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
VOC Energy Trust	1	0	0	0	1.00
Anadarko Petroleum	2	0	4	1	2.57

Anadarko Petroleum has a consensus target price of $21.40, suggesting a potential upside of 45.88%. Given Anadarko Petroleum’s stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, analysts clearly believe Anadarko Petroleum is more favorable than VOC Energy Trust.

Profitability

This table compares VOC Energy Trust and Anadarko Petroleum’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
VOC Energy Trust	91.51%	68.92%	68.92%
Anadarko Petroleum	0.65%	21.23%	3.06%

Earnings and Valuation

This table compares VOC Energy Trust and Anadarko Petroleum”s top-line revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
VOC Energy Trust	$8.62 million	6.15	$7.39 million	$0.41	7.60
Anadarko Petroleum	$5.58 billion	0.03	$32.73 million	$0.97	15.12

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

Summary

Anadarko Petroleum beats VOC Energy Trust on 8 of the 14 factors compared between the two stocks.

About VOC Energy Trust

VOC Energy Trust is a publicly traded grantor trust formed to own and distribute proceeds from oil and natural gas interests. The trust does not operate exploration and production activities directly; instead, it receives income from its underlying interests in producing and potentially developing oil and gas properties. The trust’s assets primarily consist of net profits interests in oil and natural gas properties located in Kansas and Texas. Revenue is generated from the sale of production from these properties, after the deduction of applicable operating expenses, development costs and other expenses.

About Anadarko Petroleum

Anadarko Petroleum Corporation was an independent oil and natural gas exploration and production company. Its business focused on finding, developing and producing crude oil, natural gas and natural gas liquids. The company operated across several U.S. regions and held international exploration and production interests, including in Africa. Its portfolio included both onshore and offshore properties. Headquartered in The Woodlands, Texas, Anadarko was led by Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Al Walker during its final years as an independent company.