SM Energy (SM) Competitors

Archrock (NYSE:AROC) and SM Energy (NYSE:SM) are both mid-cap energy companies, but which is the better stock? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their valuation, earnings, institutional ownership, media sentiment, profitability, dividends, risk and analyst recommendations.

Is AROC or SM more profitable?

SM Energy has a net margin of 27.61% compared to Archrock's net margin of 16.38%. SM Energy's return on equity of 19.90% beat Archrock's return on equity.

Company	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Archrock	16.38%	18.31%	6.21%
SM Energy	27.61%	19.90%	10.27%

Do analysts rate AROC or SM?

Archrock currently has a consensus price target of $26.67, suggesting a potential upside of 14.30%. SM Energy has a consensus price target of $42.08, suggesting a potential upside of 47.09%. Given SM Energy's higher probable upside, analysts plainly believe SM Energy is more favorable than Archrock.

Company	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Archrock	0 Sell rating(s)	1 Hold rating(s)	6 Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.86
SM Energy	1 Sell rating(s)	6 Hold rating(s)	4 Buy rating(s)	2 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.54

Does the media favor AROC or SM?

In the previous week, SM Energy had 6 more articles in the media than Archrock. MarketBeat recorded 9 mentions for SM Energy and 3 mentions for Archrock. Archrock's average media sentiment score of 0.97 beat SM Energy's score of 0.92 indicating that Archrock is being referred to more favorably in the media.

Company	Very Positive	Positive	Neutral	Negative	Very Negative	Overall Sentiment
Archrock	2 Very Positive mention(s)	1 Positive mention(s)	0 Neutral mention(s)	0 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Positive
SM Energy	4 Very Positive mention(s)	4 Positive mention(s)	0 Neutral mention(s)	0 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Positive

Is AROC or SM a better dividend stock?

Archrock pays an annual dividend of $0.76 per share and has a dividend yield of 3.3%. SM Energy pays an annual dividend of $0.80 per share and has a dividend yield of 2.8%. Archrock pays out 64.4% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. SM Energy pays out 11.2% 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. Archrock has increased its dividend for 3 consecutive years and SM Energy has increased its dividend for 4 consecutive years.

Which has more risk & volatility, AROC or SM?

Archrock has a beta of 1.08, suggesting that its stock price is 8% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, SM Energy has a beta of 2.16, suggesting that its stock price is 116% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Do insiders and institutionals have more ownership in AROC or SM?

95.5% of Archrock shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 94.6% of SM Energy shares are owned by institutional investors. 2.6% of Archrock shares are owned by company insiders. Comparatively, 1.5% of SM Energy shares are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, large money managers and endowments believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Which has preferable earnings and valuation, AROC or SM?

SM Energy has higher revenue and earnings than Archrock. SM Energy is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Archrock, 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
Archrock	$1.16B	3.56	$172.23M	$1.18	19.77
SM Energy	$2.69B	1.22	$770.29M	$7.14	4.01

Summary

SM Energy beats Archrock on 12 of the 20 factors compared between the two stocks.