BP (BP) Competitors

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

Do analysts rate BP or SHEL?

BP currently has a consensus price target of $42.05, suggesting a potential upside of 20.32%. Shell has a consensus price target of $76.71, suggesting a potential upside of 2.48%. Given BP's higher probable upside, equities research analysts plainly believe BP is more favorable than Shell.

Company	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
BP	1 Sell rating(s)	9 Hold rating(s)	5 Buy rating(s)	3 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.56
Shell	0 Sell rating(s)	7 Hold rating(s)	10 Buy rating(s)	1 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.67

Which has more volatility and risk, BP or SHEL?

BP has a beta of 0.54, suggesting that its stock price is 46% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Shell has a beta of 0.39, suggesting that its stock price is 61% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Does the media prefer BP or SHEL?

In the previous week, Shell had 9 more articles in the media than BP. MarketBeat recorded 20 mentions for Shell and 11 mentions for BP. BP's average media sentiment score of 0.35 beat Shell's score of 0.03 indicating that BP is being referred to more favorably in the media.

Company	Very Positive	Positive	Neutral	Negative	Very Negative	Overall Sentiment
BP	2 Very Positive mention(s)	2 Positive mention(s)	5 Neutral mention(s)	0 Negative mention(s)	2 Very Negative mention(s)	Neutral
Shell	4 Very Positive mention(s)	2 Positive mention(s)	8 Neutral mention(s)	4 Negative mention(s)	2 Very Negative mention(s)	Neutral

Is BP or SHEL a better dividend stock?

BP pays an annual dividend of $1.98 per share and has a dividend yield of 5.7%. Shell pays an annual dividend of $2.86 per share and has a dividend yield of 3.8%. BP pays out 942.9% 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.

Which has stronger valuation & earnings, 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	166.40
Shell	$289.03B	0.76	$16.09B	$4.44	16.86

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

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

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%

Summary

Shell beats BP on 12 of the 18 factors compared between the two stocks.