BP (BP) Competitors

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

Do analysts prefer BP or SHEL?

BP presently has a consensus target price of $35.17, suggesting a potential upside of 2.68%. Shell has a consensus target price of $78.64, suggesting a potential upside of 9.38%. Given Shell's stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, analysts plainly believe Shell is more favorable than BP.

Company	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
BP	2 Sell rating(s)	11 Hold rating(s)	1 Buy rating(s)	2 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.19
Shell	0 Sell rating(s)	5 Hold rating(s)	10 Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.67

Is BP or SHEL a better dividend stock?

BP pays an annual dividend of $1.90 per share and has a dividend yield of 5.5%. Shell pays an annual dividend of $2.86 per share and has a dividend yield of 4.0%. BP pays out 904.8% of its earnings in the form of a dividend, suggesting it may not have sufficient earnings to cover its dividend payment in the future. Shell pays out 64.4% of its earnings in the form of a dividend.

Do insiders and institutionals hold more shares of BP or SHEL?

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

Is BP or SHEL more profitable?

Shell has a net margin of 4.93% compared to BP's net margin of 0.29%. Shell's return on equity of 10.67% beat BP's return on equity.

Company	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
BP	0.29%	9.08%	2.57%
Shell	4.93%	10.67%	5.02%

Does the media favor BP or SHEL?

In the previous week, BP had 14 more articles in the media than Shell. MarketBeat recorded 41 mentions for BP and 27 mentions for Shell. Shell's average media sentiment score of 0.73 beat BP's score of 0.61 indicating that Shell is being referred to more favorably in the news media.

Company	Very Positive	Positive	Neutral	Negative	Very Negative	Overall Sentiment
BP	18 Very Positive mention(s)	3 Positive mention(s)	11 Neutral mention(s)	4 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Positive
Shell	11 Very Positive mention(s)	3 Positive mention(s)	7 Neutral mention(s)	3 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Positive

Which has better earnings and valuation, BP or SHEL?

Shell has higher revenue and earnings than BP. Shell is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than BP, 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
BP	$194.63B	0.47	$381M	$0.21	163.10
Shell	$289.03B	0.74	$16.09B	$4.44	16.19

Which has more risk & volatility, BP or SHEL?

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

Summary

Shell beats BP on 13 of the 18 factors compared between the two stocks.