BP (BP) Competitors

Shell (LON:SHEL) and BP (LON:BP) are both large-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.

Do insiders and institutionals have more ownership in SHEL or BP?

37.3% of Shell shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 41.6% of BP shares are owned by institutional investors. 0.1% of Shell shares are owned by company insiders. Comparatively, 0.3% of BP 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.

Is SHEL or BP more profitable?

Shell has a net margin of 5.27% compared to BP's net margin of 1.39%. Shell's return on equity of 8.38% beat BP's return on equity.

Company	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Shell	5.27%	8.38%	5.28%
BP	1.39%	3.99%	4.07%

Is SHEL or BP a better dividend stock?

Shell pays an annual dividend of GBX 105 per share and has a dividend yield of 4.0%. BP pays an annual dividend of GBX 23 per share and has a dividend yield of 5.8%. Shell pays out 52.3% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. BP pays out 171.8% of its earnings in the form of a dividend, suggesting it may not have sufficient earnings to cover its dividend payment in the future.

Which has preferable earnings and valuation, SHEL or BP?

Shell has higher revenue and earnings than BP. Shell is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than BP, 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
Shell	£357.18B	0.55	£18.82B	£200.69	13.06
BP	£233.22B	0.33	£3.23B	£13.39	29.71

Does the media favor SHEL or BP?

In the previous week, BP had 3 more articles in the media than Shell. MarketBeat recorded 18 mentions for BP and 15 mentions for Shell. Shell's average media sentiment score of 0.59 beat BP's score of 0.21 indicating that Shell is being referred to more favorably in the media.

Company	Very Positive	Positive	Neutral	Negative	Very Negative	Overall Sentiment
Shell	11 Very Positive mention(s)	1 Positive mention(s)	1 Neutral mention(s)	2 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Positive
BP	4 Very Positive mention(s)	3 Positive mention(s)	5 Neutral mention(s)	4 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Neutral

Do analysts rate SHEL or BP?

Shell currently has a consensus price target of GBX 3,225, suggesting a potential upside of 23.02%. BP has a consensus price target of GBX 494, suggesting a potential upside of 24.18%. Given BP's higher probable upside, analysts plainly believe BP is more favorable than Shell.

Company	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Shell	0 Sell rating(s)	0 Hold rating(s)	4 Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	3.00
BP	0 Sell rating(s)	3 Hold rating(s)	2 Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.40

Which has more risk & volatility, SHEL or BP?

Shell has a beta of 0.51, suggesting that its stock price is 49% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, BP has a beta of 0.49, suggesting that its stock price is 51% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Summary

Shell beats BP on 12 of the 18 factors compared between the two stocks.