Gulf Keystone Petroleum (GKP) Competitors

Seplat Energy (LON:SEPL) and Gulf Keystone Petroleum (LON:GKP) 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, dividends, profitability, valuation, media sentiment and analyst recommendations.

Is SEPL or GKP more profitable?

Seplat Energy has a net margin of 8.59% compared to Gulf Keystone Petroleum's net margin of -7.11%. Seplat Energy's return on equity of 4.57% beat Gulf Keystone Petroleum's return on equity.

Company	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Seplat Energy	8.59%	4.57%	5.52%
Gulf Keystone Petroleum	-7.11%	-1.52%	-0.98%

Which has more risk and volatility, SEPL or GKP?

Seplat Energy has a beta of 0.45, indicating that its stock price is 55% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Gulf Keystone Petroleum has a beta of 1.22, indicating that its stock price is 22% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Do institutionals & insiders have more ownership in SEPL or GKP?

2.0% of Seplat Energy shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 32.5% of Gulf Keystone Petroleum shares are owned by institutional investors. 1.7% of Seplat Energy shares are owned by insiders. Comparatively, 16.8% of Gulf Keystone Petroleum shares are owned by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, large money managers and endowments believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Which has higher earnings & valuation, SEPL or GKP?

Seplat Energy has higher revenue and earnings than Gulf Keystone Petroleum. Gulf Keystone Petroleum is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Seplat Energy, 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
Seplat Energy	£1.16B	1.64	£99.56M	£11.03	23.63
Gulf Keystone Petroleum	£134.56M	3.27	-£9.57M	-£2.81	-57.63

Does the media favor SEPL or GKP?

In the previous week, Seplat Energy had 10 more articles in the media than Gulf Keystone Petroleum. MarketBeat recorded 10 mentions for Seplat Energy and 0 mentions for Gulf Keystone Petroleum. Seplat Energy's average media sentiment score of 0.59 beat Gulf Keystone Petroleum's score of 0.00 indicating that Seplat Energy is being referred to more favorably in the media.

Company	Overall Sentiment
Seplat Energy	Positive
Gulf Keystone Petroleum	Neutral

Do analysts prefer SEPL or GKP?

Seplat Energy presently has a consensus target price of GBX 456, suggesting a potential upside of 75.05%. Gulf Keystone Petroleum has a consensus target price of GBX 207.50, suggesting a potential upside of 28.09%. Given Seplat Energy's higher possible upside, equities research analysts plainly believe Seplat Energy is more favorable than Gulf Keystone Petroleum.

Company	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Seplat Energy	0 Sell rating(s)	0 Hold rating(s)	1 Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	3.00
Gulf Keystone Petroleum	0 Sell rating(s)	0 Hold rating(s)	2 Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	3.00

Is SEPL or GKP a better dividend stock?

Seplat Energy pays an annual dividend of GBX 9 per share and has a dividend yield of 3.5%. Gulf Keystone Petroleum pays an annual dividend of GBX 5 per share and has a dividend yield of 3.1%. Seplat Energy pays out 81.6% of its earnings in the form of a dividend, suggesting it may not have sufficient earnings to cover its dividend payment in the future. Gulf Keystone Petroleum pays out -177.9% of its earnings in the form of a dividend.

Summary

Seplat Energy beats Gulf Keystone Petroleum on 11 of the 17 factors compared between the two stocks.