W&T Offshore (NYSE:WTI) & VOC Energy Trust (NYSE:VOC) Critical Contrast

VOC Energy Trust (NYSE:VOC) and W&T Offshore (NYSE:WTI) are both small-cap energy companies, but which is the superior investment? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their earnings, risk, institutional ownership, profitability, analyst recommendations, valuation and dividends.

Dividends

VOC Energy Trust pays an annual dividend of $0.38 per share and has a dividend yield of 13.2%. W&T Offshore pays an annual dividend of $0.04 per share and has a dividend yield of 1.3%. VOC Energy Trust pays out 86.4% of its earnings in the form of a dividend, suggesting it may not have sufficient earnings to cover its dividend payment in the future. W&T Offshore pays out -4.2% of its earnings in the form of a dividend.

Profitability

This table compares VOC Energy Trust and W&T Offshore’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
VOC Energy Trust	90.03%	71.27%	71.27%
W&T Offshore	-27.23%	N/A	-4.12%

Volatility and Risk

VOC Energy Trust has a beta of 0.13, indicating that its share price is 87% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, W&T Offshore has a beta of 0.24, indicating that its share price is 76% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Analyst Ratings

This is a summary of current ratings and recommmendations for VOC Energy Trust and W&T Offshore, as reported by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
VOC Energy Trust	1	0	0	0	1.00
W&T Offshore	1	1	2	0	2.25

Institutional and Insider Ownership

42.9% of W&T Offshore shares are owned by institutional investors. 35.9% of W&T Offshore shares are owned by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, hedge funds and endowments believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Valuation & Earnings

This table compares VOC Energy Trust and W&T Offshore”s gross revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
VOC Energy Trust	$8.62 million	5.68	$7.39 million	$0.44	6.55
W&T Offshore	$501.46 million	0.92	-$150.06 million	($0.95)	-3.25

VOC Energy Trust has higher earnings, but lower revenue than W&T Offshore. W&T Offshore is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than VOC Energy Trust, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Summary

VOC Energy Trust beats W&T Offshore on 8 of the 15 factors compared between the two stocks.

About VOC Energy Trust

VOC Energy Trust acquires and holds a term net profits interest of the net proceeds from production and sale of the interests in oil and natural gas properties in the states of Kansas and Texas. The company has an 80% term net profits interest of the net proceeds on the underlying properties. As of December 31, 2021, its underlying properties had interests in 452.5 net producing wells and 51,147.2 net acres. VOC Energy Trust was incorporated in 2010 and is based in Houston, Texas.

About W&T Offshore

W&T Offshore, Inc. engages in the production, exploration, development, and acquisition of oil and natural gas properties. It focuses its operations in the Gulf of Mexico. The company was founded by Tracy W. Krohn in 1983 and is headquartered in Houston, TX.