Analyzing Prairie Operating (NASDAQ:PROP) & Delek US (NYSE:DK)

Prairie Operating (NASDAQ:PROP) and Delek US (NYSE:DK) are both energy companies, but which is the superior stock? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their profitability, valuation, risk, analyst recommendations, earnings, dividends and institutional ownership.

Volatility & Risk

Prairie Operating has a beta of 1.25, suggesting that its share price is 25% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Delek US has a beta of 0.59, suggesting that its share price is 41% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Profitability

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

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Prairie Operating	-13.02%	46.53%	5.51%
Delek US	1.86%	109.03%	6.44%

Analyst Recommendations

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

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Prairie Operating	2	1	1	0	1.75
Delek US	0	7	5	1	2.54

Prairie Operating currently has a consensus price target of $2.50, suggesting a potential upside of 509.76%. Delek US has a consensus price target of $65.45, suggesting a potential downside of 16.13%. Given Prairie Operating’s higher probable upside, research analysts clearly believe Prairie Operating is more favorable than Delek US.

Earnings and Valuation

This table compares Prairie Operating and Delek US”s top-line revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Prairie Operating	$343.01 million	0.13	$32.05 million	($2.05)	-0.20
Delek US	$12.06 billion	0.40	-$22.80 million	$3.56	21.92

Prairie Operating has higher earnings, but lower revenue than Delek US. Prairie Operating is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Delek US, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Institutional & Insider Ownership

34.3% of Prairie Operating shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 97.0% of Delek US shares are held by institutional investors. 3.1% of Prairie Operating shares are held by insiders. Comparatively, 3.6% of Delek US shares are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, endowments and hedge funds believe a company will outperform the market over the long term.

Summary

Delek US beats Prairie Operating on 12 of the 15 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Prairie Operating

Prairie Operating Co., an independent energy company, engages in the development, exploration, and production of oil, natural gas, and natural gas liquids in the United States. The company holds assets in the Denver-Julesburg Basin in Colorado; and the Niobrara and Codell formations. Prairie Operating Co. is based in Houston Texas.

About Delek US

Delek US Holdings, Inc. engages in the integrated downstream energy business in the United States. The company operates through Refining, Logistics, and Retail segments. The Refining segment processes crude oil and other feedstock for the manufacture of various grades of gasoline, diesel fuel, aviation fuel, asphalt, and other petroleum-based products that are distributed through owned and third-party product terminal. It owns and operates refineries located in Tyler, Texas; El Dorado, Arkansas; Big Spring, Texas; and Krotz Springs, Louisiana, as well as biodiesel facilities in Crossett, Arkansas, Cleburne, Texas, and New Albany, Mississippi. The Logistics segment gathers, transports, and stores crude oil, intermediate, and refined products; and markets, distributes, transports, and stores refined products, as well as disposes and recycles water for third parties. It owns or leases crude oil transportation pipelines, refined product pipelines, crude oil gathering systems, and associated crude oil storage tanks; and owns and operates light product distribution terminals, as well as markets light products using third-party terminals. The Retail segment owns and leases convenience store sites located primarily in West Texas and New Mexico. Its convenience stores offer various grades of gasoline and diesel under the DK or Alon brand; and food products and service, tobacco products, non-alcoholic and alcoholic beverages, and general merchandise, as well as money orders to the public primarily under the 7-Eleven and DK or Alon brand names. It serves oil companies, independent refiners and marketers, jobbers, distributors, utility and transportation companies, government, and independent retail fuel operators. Delek US Holdings, Inc. was founded in 2001 and is headquartered in Brentwood, Tennessee.