GSV (OTCMKTS:GSVI) & Murphy Oil (NYSE:MUR) Critical Analysis

GSV (OTCMKTS:GSVI) and Murphy Oil (NYSE:MUR) are both retail/wholesale companies, but which is the better business? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their institutional ownership, profitability, valuation, analyst recommendations, dividends, earnings and risk.

Profitability

This table compares GSV and Murphy Oil’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
GSV	N/A	N/A	N/A
Murphy Oil	13.44%	7.66%	4.28%

Institutional and Insider Ownership

78.3% of Murphy Oil shares are held by institutional investors. 28.7% of GSV shares are held by company insiders. Comparatively, 5.9% of Murphy Oil shares are held by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, endowments and large money managers believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Earnings and Valuation

This table compares GSV and Murphy Oil”s top-line revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
GSV	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A
Murphy Oil	$3.02 billion	1.23	$407.17 million	$2.69	9.44

Murphy Oil has higher revenue and earnings than GSV.

Volatility & Risk

GSV has a beta of -164.03, suggesting that its share price is 16,503% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Murphy Oil has a beta of 2.18, suggesting that its share price is 118% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Analyst Ratings

This is a breakdown of recent ratings and recommmendations for GSV and Murphy Oil, as reported by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
GSV	0	0	0	0	0.00
Murphy Oil	1	9	4	0	2.21

Murphy Oil has a consensus price target of $36.31, suggesting a potential upside of 42.95%. Given Murphy Oil’s stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, analysts clearly believe Murphy Oil is more favorable than GSV.

Summary

Murphy Oil beats GSV on 9 of the 10 factors compared between the two stocks.

About GSV

GSV, Inc. is an oil and gas exploration company. It operates oil and gas wells in Louisiana; and oil and gas prospects in Texas. The company was founded in 1994 and is based in Westport, Connecticut.

About Murphy Oil

Murphy Oil Corporation, together with its subsidiaries, operates as an oil and gas exploration and production company in the United States, Canada, and internationally. It explores for and produces crude oil, natural gas, and natural gas liquids. The company was formerly known as Murphy Corporation and changed its name to Murphy Oil Corporation in 1964. The company was incorporated in 1950 and is headquartered in Houston, Texas.