Hallador Energy (NASDAQ:HNRG) & Pampa Energía (NYSE:PAM) Critical Review

Hallador Energy (NASDAQ:HNRG) and Pampa Energía (NYSE:PAM) are both oils/energy companies, but which is the better stock? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their risk, dividends, profitability, earnings, valuation, institutional ownership and analyst recommendations.

Analyst Ratings

This is a summary of recent ratings and price targets for Hallador Energy and Pampa Energía, as provided by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Hallador Energy	0	0	2	0	3.00
Pampa Energía	0	3	1	0	2.25

Hallador Energy currently has a consensus price target of $15.00, indicating a potential upside of 21.07%. Pampa Energía has a consensus price target of $63.00, indicating a potential downside of 29.52%. Given Hallador Energy’s stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, equities analysts plainly believe Hallador Energy is more favorable than Pampa Energía.

Institutional & Insider Ownership

61.4% of Hallador Energy shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 12.8% of Pampa Energía shares are owned by institutional investors. 32.3% of Hallador Energy shares are owned by insiders. Comparatively, 55.5% of Pampa Energía shares are owned by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, hedge funds and large money managers believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Earnings & Valuation

This table compares Hallador Energy and Pampa Energía”s gross revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Hallador Energy	$634.48 million	0.83	$44.79 million	($0.55)	-22.53
Pampa Energía	$1.73 billion	2.81	$302.00 million	$6.50	13.75

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

Risk and Volatility

Hallador Energy has a beta of 0.69, suggesting that its stock price is 31% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Pampa Energía has a beta of 0.96, suggesting that its stock price is 4% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Profitability

This table compares Hallador Energy and Pampa Energía’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Hallador Energy	-4.85%	-6.71%	-3.39%
Pampa Energía	19.86%	12.15%	6.57%

Summary

Pampa Energía beats Hallador Energy on 10 of the 14 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Hallador Energy

Hallador Energy Company, through its subsidiaries, engages in the production of steam coal in the State of Indiana for the electric power generation industry. The company owns the Oaktown Mine 1 and Oaktown Mine 2 underground mines in Oaktown; Freelandville Center Pit surface mine in Freelandville; and Prosperity Surface mine in Petersburg, Indiana. It is also involved in gas exploration activities in Indiana; and operation of logistics transport facility. Hallador Energy Company was founded in 1949 and is headquartered in Terre Haute, Indiana.

About Pampa Energía

Pampa Energía S.A. operates as an integrated power company in Argentina. The company operates through Electricity Generation, Oil and Gas, Petrochemicals, and Holding and Other Business segments. It generates electricity through thermal plants, hydroelectric plants, and wind farms with a 5,332 megawatt (MW) installed capacity. The company also explores for and produces oil and gas in the provinces of Neuquén and Río Negro. In addition, it produces petrochemicals, such as styrene, synthetic rubber, and polystyrene. Further, the company operates and maintains a 22,391 km high-voltage electricity transmission network in Argentina. Additionally, it holds a concession for the transportation of natural gas with 9,248 km of gas pipelines in the center, west, and south of Argentina; and processes and sells natural gas liquids in Bahía Blanca in the Province of Buenos Aires, as well as offers related advisory services. The company was formerly known as Pampa Holding S.A. and changed its name to Pampa Energía S.A. in September 2008. Pampa Energía S.A. was incorporated in 1945 and is based in Buenos Aires, Argentina.