Comparing Occidental Petroleum (NYSE:OXY) & Diversified Energy (NYSE:DEC)

Diversified Energy (NYSE:DEC) and Occidental Petroleum (NYSE:OXY) are both energy companies, but which is the superior business? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their profitability, earnings, analyst recommendations, institutional ownership, dividends, valuation and risk.

Earnings and Valuation

This table compares Diversified Energy and Occidental Petroleum”s revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Diversified Energy	$794.84 million	0.88	$758.02 million	N/A	N/A
Occidental Petroleum	$27.55 billion	1.66	$4.70 billion	$2.46	18.86

Occidental Petroleum has higher revenue and earnings than Diversified Energy.

Risk and Volatility

Diversified Energy has a beta of 0.78, indicating that its stock price is 22% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Occidental Petroleum has a beta of 0.87, indicating that its stock price is 13% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Dividends

Diversified Energy pays an annual dividend of $0.81 per share and has a dividend yield of 5.6%. Occidental Petroleum pays an annual dividend of $0.96 per share and has a dividend yield of 2.1%. Occidental Petroleum pays out 39.0% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Occidental Petroleum has increased its dividend for 5 consecutive years.

Institutional & Insider Ownership

26.5% of Diversified Energy shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 88.7% of Occidental Petroleum shares are owned by institutional investors. 0.5% of Occidental Petroleum shares are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, hedge funds and endowments believe a stock will outperform the market over the long term.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a summary of current ratings and target prices for Diversified Energy and Occidental Petroleum, as reported by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Diversified Energy	0	0	4	0	3.00
Occidental Petroleum	2	14	5	0	2.14

Diversified Energy currently has a consensus target price of $20.75, suggesting a potential upside of 42.70%. Occidental Petroleum has a consensus target price of $53.14, suggesting a potential upside of 14.52%. Given Diversified Energy’s stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, equities research analysts plainly believe Diversified Energy is more favorable than Occidental Petroleum.

Profitability

This table compares Diversified Energy and Occidental Petroleum’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Diversified Energy	N/A	N/A	N/A
Occidental Petroleum	11.37%	16.33%	5.05%

Summary

Occidental Petroleum beats Diversified Energy on 11 of the 15 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Diversified Energy

Diversified Energy Company PLC operates as an independent owner and operator of producing natural gas and oil wells primarily in the Appalachian Basin of the United States. The company is involved in the production, marketing, and transportation of natural gas, natural gas liquids, crude oil, and condensates. Its assets consist of natural gas wells and gathering systems located in the states of Tennessee, Kentucky, Virginia, West Virginia, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Oklahoma, Texas, and Louisiana. The company was formerly known as Diversified Gas & Oil PLC and changed its name to Diversified Energy Company PLC in May 2021. Diversified Energy Company PLC was founded in 2001 and is headquartered in Birmingham, Alabama.

About Occidental Petroleum

Occidental Petroleum Corporation, together with its subsidiaries, engages in the acquisition, exploration, and development of oil and gas properties in the United States, the Middle East, and North Africa. It operates through three segments: Oil and Gas, Chemical, and Midstream and Marketing. The company's Oil and Gas segment explores for, develops, and produces oil and condensate, natural gas liquids (NGLs), and natural gas. Its Chemical segment manufactures and markets basic chemicals, including chlorine, caustic soda, chlorinated organics, potassium chemicals, ethylene dichloride, chlorinated isocyanurates, sodium silicates, and calcium chloride; and vinyls comprising vinyl chloride monomer, polyvinyl chloride, and ethylene. The Midstream and Marketing segment gathers, processes, transports, stores, purchases, and markets oil, condensate, NGLs, natural gas, carbon dioxide, and power. This segment also invests in entities. Occidental Petroleum Corporation was founded in 1920 and is headquartered in Houston, Texas.