Head-To-Head Contrast: ECA Marcellus Trust I (OTCMKTS:ECT) and Amplify Energy (NYSE:AMPY)

ECA Marcellus Trust I (OTCMKTS:ECT) and Amplify Energy (NYSE:AMPY) are both small-cap oils/energy companies, but which is the better investment? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their valuation, risk, earnings, dividends, analyst recommendations, institutional ownership and profitability.

Institutional & Insider Ownership

2.0% of ECA Marcellus Trust I shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 42.8% of Amplify Energy shares are held by institutional investors. 2.0% of Amplify Energy shares are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, endowments and large money managers believe a company will outperform the market over the long term.

Profitability

This table compares ECA Marcellus Trust I and Amplify Energy’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
ECA Marcellus Trust I	46.53%	4.37%	4.32%
Amplify Energy	20.99%	16.22%	8.79%

Analyst Ratings

This is a summary of current ratings and recommmendations for ECA Marcellus Trust I and Amplify Energy, as reported by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
ECA Marcellus Trust I	0	0	0	0	0.00
Amplify Energy	0	0	3	0	3.00

Amplify Energy has a consensus price target of $10.00, indicating a potential upside of 81.98%. Given Amplify Energy’s stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, analysts plainly believe Amplify Energy is more favorable than ECA Marcellus Trust I.

Risk & Volatility

ECA Marcellus Trust I has a beta of 2, meaning that its stock price is 100% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Amplify Energy has a beta of 1.95, meaning that its stock price is 95% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Valuation and Earnings

This table compares ECA Marcellus Trust I and Amplify Energy”s top-line revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
ECA Marcellus Trust I	$4.15 million	1.70	$2.90 million	N/A	N/A
Amplify Energy	$307.60 million	0.71	$392.75 million	$1.54	3.57

Amplify Energy has higher revenue and earnings than ECA Marcellus Trust I.

Summary

Amplify Energy beats ECA Marcellus Trust I on 9 of the 13 factors compared between the two stocks.

About ECA Marcellus Trust I

ECA Marcellus Trust I is a statutory trust. It owns royalty interest in producing wells and development wells. It also acquires horizontal natural gas development wells to be drilled to the Marcellus Shale formation. The company was founded in March 2010 and is headquartered in Houston, TX.

About Amplify Energy

Amplify Energy Corp., together with its subsidiaries, engages in the acquisition, development, exploitation, and production of oil and natural gas properties in the United States. The company’s properties consist of operated and non-operated working interests in producing and undeveloped leasehold acreage, as well as working interests in identified producing wells located in Oklahoma, the Rockies, federal waters offshore Southern California, East Texas/North Louisiana, and Eagle Ford. The company is based in Houston, Texas.