By Erica Schwartz

January 4, 2018 - Westmoreland Coal (NASDAQ: WLB) and CONSOL Coal Resources (NYSE:CCR) are both small-cap energy companies, but which is the superior stock? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their institutional ownership, earnings, profitability, risk, analyst recommendations, valuation and dividends.

Insider & Institutional Ownership

65.9% of Westmoreland Coal shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 25.6% of CONSOL Coal Resources shares are owned by institutional investors. 1.4% of Westmoreland Coal shares are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, endowments and large money managers believe a company will outperform the market over the long term.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a summary of recent ratings and price targets for Westmoreland Coal and CONSOL Coal Resources, as provided by MarketBeat.

Westmoreland Coal currently has a consensus price target of $6.00, indicating a potential upside of 354.55%. CONSOL Coal Resources has a consensus price target of $20.20, indicating a potential upside of 26.65%. Given Westmoreland Coal’s higher possible upside, analysts plainly believe Westmoreland Coal is more favorable than CONSOL Coal Resources.

Valuation and Earnings

This table compares Westmoreland Coal and CONSOL Coal Resources’ top-line revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

CONSOL Coal Resources has lower revenue, but higher earnings than Westmoreland Coal. Westmoreland Coal is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than CONSOL Coal Resources, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Dividends

CONSOL Coal Resources pays an annual dividend of $2.05 per share and has a dividend yield of 12.9%. Westmoreland Coal does not pay a dividend. CONSOL Coal Resources pays out 148.6% of its earnings in the form of a dividend, suggesting it may not have sufficient earnings to cover its dividend payment in the future.

Profitability

This table compares Westmoreland Coal and CONSOL Coal Resources’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

Summary

CONSOL Coal Resources beats Westmoreland Coal on 10 of the 15 factors compared between the two stocks.

Westmoreland Coal Company Profile

Westmoreland Coal Company is an energy company. The Company operates through six segments: Coal-U.S., Coal-Canada, Coal-(WMLP), Power, Heritage and Corporate. The Coal-U.S. segment includes the operations of coal mines located in Montana, North Dakota, Ohio, Texas and New Mexico. The Coal-Canada segment includes the operations of coal mines located in Alberta and Saskatchewan. The Coal-WMLP segment includes the operations of Westmoreland Resource Partners, LP, a coal master limited partnership. The Power segment includes its Roanoke Valley Power Facility (ROVA) operations located in North Carolina. The Heritage segment includes the benefits it provides to former mining operation employees, as well as other administrative costs associated with providing those benefits and cost containment efforts. It produces and sells thermal coal primarily to investment grade utility customers under cost-protected contracts, as well as to industrial customers and barbeque briquettes manufacturers.

CONSOL Coal Resources Company Profile 

Consol Coal Resources LP, formerly CNX Coal Resources LP, is a producer of high-British thermal units (Btu) thermal coal. It is engaged in the management and development of coal operations of CONSOL Energy Inc. (CONSOL Energy) in Pennsylvania. It holds interest in, and operational control over, CONSOL Energy’s Pennsylvania Mining Complex, which consists of three underground mines and related infrastructure that produce high-Btu bituminous thermal coal that is sold primarily to electric utilities in the eastern United States. The Pennsylvania Mining Complex includes the Bailey Mine, the Enlow Fork Mine and the Harvey Mine. It mines its reserves from the Pittsburgh Number eight Coal Seam, which is a contiguous formation of uniform, Btu thermal coal. Its Bailey Mine is located in Enon, Pennsylvania. Its Enlow Fork Mine is located directly north of the Bailey Mine. Its Harvey Mine is located directly east of the Bailey and Enlow Fork Mines.