Head-To-Head Comparison: Vista Energy (NYSE:VIST) and YPF Sociedad Anonima (NYSE:YPF)

Vista Energy (NYSE:VIST) and YPF Sociedad Anonima (NYSE:YPF) are both energy companies, but which is the better business? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their valuation, institutional ownership, risk, dividends, analyst recommendations, profitability and earnings.

Volatility & Risk

Vista Energy has a beta of 0.95, indicating that its share price is 5% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, YPF Sociedad Anonima has a beta of 1.72, indicating that its share price is 72% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Profitability

This table compares Vista Energy and YPF Sociedad Anonima’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Vista Energy	32.66%	15.92%	5.77%
YPF Sociedad Anonima	6.32%	12.39%	5.07%

Valuation and Earnings

This table compares Vista Energy and YPF Sociedad Anonima”s top-line revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Vista Energy	$1.65 billion	3.10	$477.52 million	$6.80	7.20
YPF Sociedad Anonima	$19.16 billion	0.76	$2.35 billion	$3.10	12.00

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

Analyst Ratings

This is a summary of current recommendations for Vista Energy and YPF Sociedad Anonima, as provided by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Vista Energy	0	2	3	2	3.00
YPF Sociedad Anonima	0	5	3	0	2.38

Vista Energy presently has a consensus target price of $59.60, suggesting a potential upside of 21.77%. YPF Sociedad Anonima has a consensus target price of $43.60, suggesting a potential upside of 17.17%. Given Vista Energy’s stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, equities research analysts clearly believe Vista Energy is more favorable than YPF Sociedad Anonima.

Insider & Institutional Ownership

63.8% of Vista Energy shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 10.1% of YPF Sociedad Anonima shares are held by institutional investors. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, hedge funds and endowments believe a company will outperform the market over the long term.

Summary

Vista Energy beats YPF Sociedad Anonima on 9 of the 13 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Vista Energy

Vista Energy, S.A.B. de C.V., through its subsidiaries, engages in the exploration and production of oil and gas in Latin America. The company's principal assets located in Neuquina basin, Argentina and Vaca Muerta. It owns producing assets in Argentina and Mexico. In addition, the company involved in drilling and workover activities located in Argentina. The company was formerly known as Vista Oil & Gas, S.A.B. de C.V. and changed its name to Vista Energy, S.A.B. de C.V. in April 2022. Vista Energy, S.A.B. de C.V. was incorporated in 2017 and is based in Mexico City, Mexico.

About YPF Sociedad Anonima

YPF Sociedad Anónima, an energy company, engages in the oil and gas upstream and downstream activities in Argentina. Its upstream operations include the exploration, exploitation, and production of crude oil, and natural gas. The company’s downstream operations include petrochemical production and crude oil refining; transportation and distribution refined and petrochemical products; commercialization of crude oil, petrochemical products, and specialties. Its gas and power operations include transportation, commercialization, and distribution of natural gas; operation of regasification terminals; conditioning, processing, and separation of natural gas; and power generation. The company had interests in oil and gas fields. It also had a retail distribution network and retail service stations. In addition, the company owns and operates refineries, as well as maintains terminal facilities Argentine ports. Further, it participates in power generation plants; offers diesel, fertilizers, lubricants, phytosanitary products, and ensiling bags; and supplies diesel, gasoline, fuel oil, coal, asphalts, paraffin, and sulfur, CO2, decanted oil, and aromatic extract. The company was incorporated in 1977 and is based in Buenos Aires, Argentina.