U.S. Energy Corp. (NASDAQ: USEG) and 22nd Century Group (NYSE:XXII) are both small-cap oils/energy companies, but which is the superior investment? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their institutional ownership, analyst recommendations, profitabiliy, valuation, risk, earnings and dividends.
Earnings and Valuation
This table compares U.S. Energy Corp. and 22nd Century Group’s gross revenue, earnings per share and valuation.
| Gross Revenue | Price/Sales Ratio | EBITDA | Earnings Per Share | Price/Earnings Ratio | |
| U.S. Energy Corp. | $6.43 million | 0.72 | -$358,999.00 | N/A | N/A |
| 22nd Century Group | $11.49 million | 11.47 | -$10.26 million | N/A | N/A |
U.S. Energy Corp. has higher revenue, but lower earnings than 22nd Century Group.
Profitability
This table compares U.S. Energy Corp. and 22nd Century Group’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.
| Net Margins | Return on Equity | Return on Assets | |
| U.S. Energy Corp. | N/A | N/A | N/A |
| 22nd Century Group | -117.47% | -45.50% | -39.67% |
Analyst Ratings
This is a breakdown of recent ratings and price targets for U.S. Energy Corp. and 22nd Century Group, as reported by MarketBeat.com.
| Sell Ratings | Hold Ratings | Buy Ratings | Strong Buy Ratings | Rating Score | |
| U.S. Energy Corp. | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | N/A |
| 22nd Century Group | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 3.00 |
22nd Century Group has a consensus target price of $3.50, indicating a potential upside of 141.38%. Given 22nd Century Group’s higher possible upside, analysts clearly believe 22nd Century Group is more favorable than U.S. Energy Corp..
Institutional & Insider Ownership
8.0% of U.S. Energy Corp. shares are owned by institutional investors. 1.7% of U.S. Energy Corp. shares are owned by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, endowments and large money managers believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.
Summary
U.S. Energy Corp. beats 22nd Century Group on 6 of the 10 factors compared between the two stocks.
About U.S. Energy Corp.
U.S. Energy Corp. (U.S. Energy) is an independent energy company focused on the acquisition and development of oil and gas producing properties in the continental United States. The Company’s business activities are focused on South Texas and the Williston Basin in North Dakota. The Company operates through Oil and Gas segment. The Company participates in oil and gas projects primarily as a non-operating working interest owner through exploration and development agreements with various oil and gas exploration and production companies. The Company is also pursuing acquisitions of exploration, development and production-stage oil and gas properties or companies. The Company holds a geographically and geologically diverse portfolio of oil-weighted prospects in varying-stages of exploration and development. The Company engages in the prospect stages either for its own account or with prospective partners to enlarge its oil and gas lease ownership base.
About 22nd Century Group
22nd Century Group, Inc. is a plant biotechnology company. The Company is focused on technology that allows increasing or decreasing the level of nicotine and other nicotinic alkaloids in tobacco plants, and levels of cannabinoids in cannabis plants through genetic engineering and plant breeding. It is engaged in various activities, including research and development of less harmful or modified risk tobacco products and tobacco plant varieties; development of X-22, a smoking cessation aid consisting of very low nicotine (VLN) cigarettes; manufacture, marketing and distribution of its RED SUN and MAGIC cigarettes; production of SPECTRUM research cigarettes for the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA); contract manufacturing of third-party branded tobacco products, and research and development of plant varieties of hemp/cannabis, such as plants with low to no amounts of delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), plants with high levels of cannabidiol (CBD), and other non-THC cannabinoids.
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