Halliburton (HAL) Competitors

Baker Hughes (NASDAQ:BKR) and Halliburton (NYSE:HAL) are both large-cap energy companies, but which is the better business? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their media sentiment, dividends, analyst recommendations, risk, valuation, profitability, institutional ownership and earnings.

Do insiders & institutionals have more ownership in BKR or HAL?

92.1% of Baker Hughes shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 85.2% of Halliburton shares are owned by institutional investors. 0.3% of Baker Hughes shares are owned by insiders. Comparatively, 0.6% of Halliburton 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.

Do analysts recommend BKR or HAL?

Baker Hughes presently has a consensus price target of $52.29, suggesting a potential upside of 12.98%. Halliburton has a consensus price target of $32.05, suggesting a potential upside of 47.02%. Given Halliburton's higher probable upside, analysts clearly believe Halliburton is more favorable than Baker Hughes.

Company	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Baker Hughes	0 Sell rating(s)	3 Hold rating(s)	20 Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.87
Halliburton	0 Sell rating(s)	8 Hold rating(s)	14 Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.64

Does the media refer more to BKR or HAL?

In the previous week, Halliburton had 2 more articles in the media than Baker Hughes. MarketBeat recorded 38 mentions for Halliburton and 36 mentions for Baker Hughes. Baker Hughes' average media sentiment score of 1.44 beat Halliburton's score of 0.53 indicating that Baker Hughes is being referred to more favorably in the media.

Company	Very Positive	Positive	Neutral	Negative	Very Negative	Overall Sentiment
Baker Hughes	30 Very Positive mention(s)	1 Positive mention(s)	3 Neutral mention(s)	1 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Positive
Halliburton	20 Very Positive mention(s)	1 Positive mention(s)	5 Neutral mention(s)	1 Negative mention(s)	1 Very Negative mention(s)	Positive

Which has preferable earnings & valuation, BKR or HAL?

Baker Hughes has higher revenue and earnings than Halliburton. Halliburton is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Baker Hughes, 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
Baker Hughes	$27.83B	1.64	$2.98B	$3.06	15.12
Halliburton	$22.94B	0.81	$2.50B	$2.14	10.19

Which has more risk & volatility, BKR or HAL?

Baker Hughes has a beta of 1.01, meaning that its share price is 1% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Halliburton has a beta of 1.1, meaning that its share price is 10% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Is BKR or HAL more profitable?

Baker Hughes has a net margin of 11.04% compared to Halliburton's net margin of 8.37%. Halliburton's return on equity of 21.45% beat Baker Hughes' return on equity.

Company	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Baker Hughes	11.04%	14.56%	6.53%
Halliburton	8.37%	21.45%	8.85%

Is BKR or HAL a better dividend stock?

Baker Hughes pays an annual dividend of $0.92 per share and has a dividend yield of 2.0%. Halliburton pays an annual dividend of $0.68 per share and has a dividend yield of 3.1%. Baker Hughes pays out 30.1% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Halliburton pays out 31.8% 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. Baker Hughes has raised its dividend for 4 consecutive years and Halliburton has raised its dividend for 4 consecutive years.

Summary

Baker Hughes beats Halliburton on 11 of the 18 factors compared between the two stocks.