Comparing Hallador Energy (NASDAQ:HNRG) and XPLR Infrastructure (NYSE:XIFR)

Hallador Energy (NASDAQ:HNRG) and XPLR Infrastructure (NYSE:XIFR) are both small-cap utilities companies, but which is the superior business? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their dividends, analyst recommendations, earnings, risk, valuation, profitability and institutional ownership.

Volatility and Risk

Hallador Energy has a beta of 0.45, indicating that its stock price is 55% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, XPLR Infrastructure has a beta of 0.95, indicating that its stock price is 5% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Profitability

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

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Hallador Energy	-0.20%	-0.52%	-0.21%
XPLR Infrastructure	5.24%	0.61%	0.34%

Analyst Recommendations

This is a summary of current recommendations for Hallador Energy and XPLR Infrastructure, as provided by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Hallador Energy	2	0	2	2	2.67
XPLR Infrastructure	2	3	2	1	2.25

Hallador Energy presently has a consensus price target of $24.88, suggesting a potential upside of 134.67%. XPLR Infrastructure has a consensus price target of $12.17, suggesting a potential upside of 26.16%. Given Hallador Energy’s stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, analysts clearly believe Hallador Energy is more favorable than XPLR Infrastructure.

Earnings and Valuation

This table compares Hallador Energy and XPLR Infrastructure”s revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Hallador Energy	$469.47 million	1.06	$41.87 million	$0.02	530.00
XPLR Infrastructure	$1.19 billion	0.77	-$28.00 million	$0.65	14.84

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

Insider & Institutional Ownership

61.4% of Hallador Energy shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 66.0% of XPLR Infrastructure shares are owned by institutional investors. 17.4% of Hallador Energy shares are owned by insiders. Comparatively, 0.4% of XPLR Infrastructure shares are owned by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, large money managers and hedge funds believe a company will outperform the market over the long term.

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 XPLR Infrastructure

XPLR Infrastructure LP engages in the acquisition, management, and ownership of contracted clean energy projects with long-term cash flows. It owns interests in wind and solar projects in North America and natural gas infrastructure assets in Texas. The company was founded on March 6, 2014 and is headquartered in Juno Beach, FL.