Schlumberger (SLB) Competitors

Halliburton (NYSE:HAL) and Schlumberger (NYSE:SLB) are both large-cap energy companies, but which is the superior stock? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their analyst recommendations, earnings, valuation, dividends, institutional ownership, media sentiment, profitability, risk and community ranking.

Is HAL or SLB more profitable?

Schlumberger has a net margin of 12.29% compared to Halliburton's net margin of 10.90%. Halliburton's return on equity of 26.03% beat Schlumberger's return on equity.

Company	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Halliburton	10.90%	26.03%	10.50%
Schlumberger	12.29%	21.90%	9.98%

Does the media favor HAL or SLB?

In the previous week, Halliburton had 11 more articles in the media than Schlumberger. MarketBeat recorded 35 mentions for Halliburton and 24 mentions for Schlumberger. Schlumberger's average media sentiment score of 0.98 beat Halliburton's score of 0.51 indicating that Schlumberger is being referred to more favorably in the news media.

Company	Very Positive	Positive	Neutral	Negative	Very Negative	Overall Sentiment
Halliburton	9 Very Positive mention(s)	7 Positive mention(s)	12 Neutral mention(s)	1 Negative mention(s)	2 Very Negative mention(s)	Positive
Schlumberger	17 Very Positive mention(s)	0 Positive mention(s)	4 Neutral mention(s)	1 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Positive

Which has more volatility & risk, HAL or SLB?

Halliburton has a beta of 1.14, meaning that its stock price is 14% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Schlumberger has a beta of 1.01, meaning that its stock price is 1% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Which has stronger earnings & valuation, HAL or SLB?

Schlumberger has higher revenue and earnings than Halliburton. Halliburton is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Schlumberger, 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
Halliburton	$22.56B	0.83	$2.50B	$2.39	9.10
Schlumberger	$36.07B	1.34	$4.46B	$2.95	12.04

Do analysts prefer HAL or SLB?

Halliburton presently has a consensus price target of $33.58, indicating a potential upside of 54.44%. Schlumberger has a consensus price target of $52.38, indicating a potential upside of 47.49%. Given Halliburton's higher probable upside, research analysts plainly believe Halliburton is more favorable than Schlumberger.

Company	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Halliburton	0 Sell rating(s)	7 Hold rating(s)	14 Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.67
Schlumberger	0 Sell rating(s)	4 Hold rating(s)	15 Buy rating(s)	1 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.85

Does the MarketBeat Community believe in HAL or SLB?

Halliburton received 212 more outperform votes than Schlumberger when rated by MarketBeat users. Likewise, 80.44% of users gave Halliburton an outperform vote while only 76.83% of users gave Schlumberger an outperform vote.

Company	Underperform	Outperform
Halliburton	Outperform Votes 1953 80.44%	Underperform Votes 475 19.56%
Schlumberger	Outperform Votes 1741 76.83%	Underperform Votes 525 23.17%

Do institutionals & insiders hold more shares of HAL or SLB?

85.2% of Halliburton shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 82.0% of Schlumberger shares are owned by institutional investors. 0.6% of Halliburton shares are owned by company insiders. Comparatively, 0.3% of Schlumberger 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 HAL or SLB a better dividend stock?

Halliburton pays an annual dividend of $0.68 per share and has a dividend yield of 3.1%. Schlumberger pays an annual dividend of $1.14 per share and has a dividend yield of 3.2%. Halliburton pays out 28.5% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Schlumberger pays out 38.6% 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. Halliburton has raised its dividend for 4 consecutive years and Schlumberger has raised its dividend for 5 consecutive years. Schlumberger is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and longer track record of dividend growth.

Summary

Schlumberger beats Halliburton on 12 of the 22 factors compared between the two stocks.