Sasol (SSL) Competitors

Sunoco (NYSE:SUN) and Sasol (NYSE:SSL) are both mid-cap energy companies, but which is the better stock? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their institutional ownership, analyst recommendations, risk, earnings, media sentiment, dividends, valuation, profitability and community ranking.

Which has stronger earnings & valuation, SUN or SSL?

Sunoco has higher earnings, but lower revenue than Sasol. Sasol is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Sunoco, 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
Sunoco	$22.69B	0.39	$874M	$6.60	8.78
Sasol	$262.30B	0.01	-$2.37B	$2.27	1.53

Does the media refer more to SUN or SSL?

In the previous week, Sunoco had 20 more articles in the media than Sasol. MarketBeat recorded 22 mentions for Sunoco and 2 mentions for Sasol. Sasol's average media sentiment score of 0.17 beat Sunoco's score of -0.06 indicating that Sasol is being referred to more favorably in the news media.

Company	Very Positive	Positive	Neutral	Negative	Very Negative	Overall Sentiment
Sunoco	2 Very Positive mention(s)	4 Positive mention(s)	5 Neutral mention(s)	1 Negative mention(s)	4 Very Negative mention(s)	Neutral
Sasol	1 Very Positive mention(s)	0 Positive mention(s)	1 Neutral mention(s)	0 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Neutral

Do analysts prefer SUN or SSL?

Sunoco presently has a consensus target price of $64.33, indicating a potential upside of 10.96%. Given Sunoco's stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, equities research analysts plainly believe Sunoco is more favorable than Sasol.

Company	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Sunoco	0 Sell rating(s)	0 Hold rating(s)	6 Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	3.00
Sasol	0 Sell rating(s)	1 Hold rating(s)	0 Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.00

Does the MarketBeat Community favor SUN or SSL?

Sunoco received 139 more outperform votes than Sasol when rated by MarketBeat users. Likewise, 60.77% of users gave Sunoco an outperform vote while only 54.71% of users gave Sasol an outperform vote.

Company	Underperform	Outperform
Sunoco	Outperform Votes 505 60.77%	Underperform Votes 326 39.23%
Sasol	Outperform Votes 366 54.71%	Underperform Votes 303 45.29%

Is SUN or SSL a better dividend stock?

Sunoco pays an annual dividend of $3.59 per share and has a dividend yield of 6.2%. Sasol pays an annual dividend of $0.08 per share and has a dividend yield of 2.3%. Sunoco pays out 54.4% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Sasol pays out 3.5% 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.

Is SUN or SSL more profitable?

Sunoco has a net margin of 3.85% compared to Sasol's net margin of 0.00%. Sunoco's return on equity of 22.52% beat Sasol's return on equity.

Company	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Sunoco	3.85%	22.52%	6.13%
Sasol	N/A	N/A	N/A

Do insiders & institutionals believe in SUN or SSL?

24.3% of Sunoco shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 1.2% of Sasol shares are owned by institutional investors. 1.0% of Sasol shares are owned by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, large money managers and endowments believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.

Which has more risk & volatility, SUN or SSL?

Sunoco has a beta of 1.06, indicating that its share price is 6% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Sasol has a beta of 1.72, indicating that its share price is 72% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Summary

Sunoco beats Sasol on 15 of the 20 factors compared between the two stocks.