BP (BP) Competitors

BP (NYSE:BP) and Shell (NYSE:SHEL) are both large-cap oils/energy companies, but which is the better business? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their profitability, institutional ownership, media sentiment, earnings, risk, analyst recommendations, dividends, valuation and community ranking.

Is BP or SHEL more profitable?

Shell has a net margin of 5.17% compared to BP's net margin of 1.36%. Shell's return on equity of 14.54% beat BP's return on equity.

Company	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
BP	1.36%	12.91%	3.91%
Shell	5.17%	14.54%	6.86%

Does the MarketBeat Community believe in BP or SHEL?

BP received 898 more outperform votes than Shell when rated by MarketBeat users. Likewise, 67.51% of users gave BP an outperform vote while only 65.00% of users gave Shell an outperform vote.

Company	Underperform	Outperform
BP	Outperform Votes 1197 67.51%	Underperform Votes 576 32.49%
Shell	Outperform Votes 299 65.00%	Underperform Votes 161 35.00%

Which has more risk and volatility, BP or SHEL?

BP has a beta of 0.64, suggesting that its stock price is 36% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Shell has a beta of 0.55, suggesting that its stock price is 45% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Is BP or SHEL a better dividend stock?

BP pays an annual dividend of $1.90 per share and has a dividend yield of 6.6%. Shell pays an annual dividend of $2.75 per share and has a dividend yield of 4.5%. BP pays out 200.0% of its earnings in the form of a dividend, suggesting it may not have sufficient earnings to cover its dividend payment in the future. Shell pays out 56.6% of its earnings in the form of a dividend.

Do insiders & institutionals believe in BP or SHEL?

11.0% of BP shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 28.6% of Shell shares are held by institutional investors. 1.0% of BP shares are held by insiders. Comparatively, 1.0% of Shell shares are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, hedge funds and large money managers believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Which has stronger valuation and earnings, BP or SHEL?

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
BP	$195.57B	0.39	$15.24B	$0.95	30.11
Shell	$296.76B	0.63	$19.36B	$4.86	12.48

Do analysts recommend BP or SHEL?

BP presently has a consensus price target of $41.10, indicating a potential upside of 43.71%. Shell has a consensus price target of $79.80, indicating a potential upside of 31.60%. Given BP's higher probable upside, research analysts plainly believe BP is more favorable than Shell.

Company	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
BP	0 Sell rating(s)	11 Hold rating(s)	4 Buy rating(s)	4 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.63
Shell	0 Sell rating(s)	2 Hold rating(s)	5 Buy rating(s)	3 Strong Buy rating(s)	3.10

Does the media prefer BP or SHEL?

In the previous week, Shell had 13 more articles in the media than BP. MarketBeat recorded 33 mentions for Shell and 20 mentions for BP. Shell's average media sentiment score of 0.64 beat BP's score of 0.26 indicating that Shell is being referred to more favorably in the news media.

Company	Very Positive	Positive	Neutral	Negative	Very Negative	Overall Sentiment
BP	6 Very Positive mention(s)	2 Positive mention(s)	5 Neutral mention(s)	2 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Neutral
Shell	18 Very Positive mention(s)	1 Positive mention(s)	10 Neutral mention(s)	3 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Positive

Summary

Shell beats BP on 13 of the 20 factors compared between the two stocks.