Schlumberger (SLB) Competitors

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

Do institutionals and insiders have more ownership in SLB or HAL?

82.0% of Schlumberger shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 85.2% of Halliburton shares are owned by institutional investors. 0.3% of Schlumberger shares are owned by insiders. Comparatively, 0.6% of Halliburton shares are owned by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, large money managers and hedge funds believe a stock will outperform the market over the long term.

Does the media prefer SLB or HAL?

In the previous week, Halliburton had 12 more articles in the media than Schlumberger. MarketBeat recorded 32 mentions for Halliburton and 20 mentions for Schlumberger. Schlumberger's average media sentiment score of 1.05 beat Halliburton's score of 0.56 indicating that Schlumberger is being referred to more favorably in the media.

Company	Very Positive	Positive	Neutral	Negative	Very Negative	Overall Sentiment
Schlumberger	15 Very Positive mention(s)	2 Positive mention(s)	1 Neutral mention(s)	1 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Positive
Halliburton	8 Very Positive mention(s)	10 Positive mention(s)	9 Neutral mention(s)	2 Negative mention(s)	2 Very Negative mention(s)	Positive

Which has preferable valuation and earnings, SLB or HAL?

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
Schlumberger	$36.07B	1.37	$4.46B	$2.95	12.31
Halliburton	$22.56B	0.88	$2.50B	$2.39	9.71

Is SLB or HAL 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
Schlumberger	12.29%	21.90%	9.98%
Halliburton	10.90%	26.03%	10.50%

Do analysts rate SLB or HAL?

Schlumberger currently has a consensus price target of $52.38, indicating a potential upside of 44.28%. Halliburton has a consensus price target of $33.58, indicating a potential upside of 44.73%. Given Halliburton's higher possible upside, analysts clearly believe Halliburton is more favorable than Schlumberger.

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

Which has more risk and volatility, SLB or HAL?

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

Does the MarketBeat Community prefer SLB or HAL?

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

Is SLB or HAL a better dividend stock?

Schlumberger pays an annual dividend of $1.14 per share and has a dividend yield of 3.1%. Halliburton pays an annual dividend of $0.68 per share and has a dividend yield of 2.9%. Schlumberger pays out 38.6% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Halliburton pays out 28.5% 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. Schlumberger has increased its dividend for 5 consecutive years and Halliburton has increased its dividend for 4 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.