BP (BP) Competitors

Shell (NYSE:SHEL) and BP (NYSE:BP) are both large-cap energy companies, but which is the superior investment? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their analyst recommendations, media sentiment, institutional ownership, valuation, earnings, risk, profitability and dividends.

Is SHEL or BP a better dividend stock?

Shell pays an annual dividend of $2.86 per share and has a dividend yield of 4.0%. BP pays an annual dividend of $1.90 per share and has a dividend yield of 6.0%. Shell pays out 65.9% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. BP pays out -413.0% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Both companies have healthy payout ratios and should be able to cover their dividend payments with earnings for the next several years. BP is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and lower payout ratio.

Which has higher earnings & valuation, SHEL or BP?

Shell has higher revenue and earnings than BP. BP is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Shell, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Company	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Shell	$289.03B	0.74	$16.09B	$4.34	16.59
BP	$194.63B	0.43	$381M	-$0.46	-69.07

Which has more volatility & risk, SHEL or BP?

Shell has a beta of 0.44, indicating that its share price is 56% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, BP has a beta of 0.57, indicating that its share price is 43% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Do insiders & institutionals have more ownership in SHEL or BP?

28.6% of Shell shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 11.0% of BP shares are owned by institutional investors. 1.0% of Shell shares are owned by company insiders. Comparatively, 1.0% of BP shares are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, endowments and hedge funds believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.

Do analysts recommend SHEL or BP?

Shell currently has a consensus price target of $78.69, indicating a potential upside of 9.30%. BP has a consensus price target of $35.50, indicating a potential upside of 11.74%. Given BP's higher probable upside, analysts plainly believe BP is more favorable than Shell.

Company	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Shell	0 Sell rating(s)	3 Hold rating(s)	10 Buy rating(s)	2 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.93
BP	2 Sell rating(s)	13 Hold rating(s)	1 Buy rating(s)	1 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.06

Does the media favor SHEL or BP?

In the previous week, Shell had 28 more articles in the media than BP. MarketBeat recorded 40 mentions for Shell and 12 mentions for BP. Shell's average media sentiment score of 0.79 beat BP's score of 0.30 indicating that Shell is being referred to more favorably in the media.

Company	Very Positive	Positive	Neutral	Negative	Very Negative	Overall Sentiment
Shell	20 Very Positive mention(s)	5 Positive mention(s)	11 Neutral mention(s)	3 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Positive
BP	2 Very Positive mention(s)	3 Positive mention(s)	5 Neutral mention(s)	0 Negative mention(s)	2 Very Negative mention(s)	Neutral

Is SHEL or BP more profitable?

Shell has a net margin of 4.93% compared to BP's net margin of -0.62%. Shell's return on equity of 10.66% beat BP's return on equity.

Company	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Shell	4.93%	10.66%	5.01%
BP	-0.62%	9.51%	2.74%

Summary

Shell beats BP on 14 of the 18 factors compared between the two stocks.