BP (BP) Competitors

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

Does the MarketBeat Community prefer BP or SHEL?

BP received 895 more outperform votes than Shell when rated by MarketBeat users. Likewise, 67.25% of users gave BP an outperform vote while only 65.38% of users gave Shell an outperform vote.

Company	Underperform	Outperform
BP	Outperform Votes 1199 67.25%	Underperform Votes 584 32.75%
Shell	Outperform Votes 304 65.38%	Underperform Votes 161 34.62%

Which has preferable 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	$194.63B	0.47	$381M	$0.08	423.64
Shell	$289.03B	0.71	$16.09B	$5.02	13.38

Is BP or SHEL more profitable?

Shell has a net margin of 5.57% compared to BP's net margin of 0.20%. Shell's return on equity of 12.75% beat BP's return on equity.

Company	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
BP	0.20%	10.96%	3.24%
Shell	5.57%	12.75%	6.01%

Does the media refer more to BP or SHEL?

In the previous week, Shell had 16 more articles in the media than BP. MarketBeat recorded 34 mentions for Shell and 18 mentions for BP. Shell's average media sentiment score of 0.95 beat BP's score of 0.51 indicating that Shell is being referred to more favorably in the news media.

Company	Very Positive	Positive	Neutral	Negative	Very Negative	Overall Sentiment
BP	4 Very Positive mention(s)	3 Positive mention(s)	9 Neutral mention(s)	0 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Positive
Shell	20 Very Positive mention(s)	2 Positive mention(s)	10 Neutral mention(s)	2 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Positive

Do institutionals and insiders have more ownership 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 company insiders. Comparatively, 1.0% of Shell shares are held by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, endowments and large money managers believe a stock will outperform the market over the long term.

Which has more volatility & risk, BP or SHEL?

BP has a beta of 0.64, suggesting that its share price is 36% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Shell has a beta of 0.54, suggesting that its share price is 46% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Do analysts rate BP or SHEL?

BP presently has a consensus target price of $39.64, indicating a potential upside of 16.97%. Shell has a consensus target price of $79.11, indicating a potential upside of 17.75%. Given Shell's stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, analysts clearly believe Shell is more favorable than BP.

Company	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
BP	1 Sell rating(s)	12 Hold rating(s)	4 Buy rating(s)	4 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.52
Shell	0 Sell rating(s)	1 Hold rating(s)	8 Buy rating(s)	3 Strong Buy rating(s)	3.17

Is BP or SHEL a better dividend stock?

BP pays an annual dividend of $1.90 per share and has a dividend yield of 5.6%. Shell pays an annual dividend of $2.86 per share and has a dividend yield of 4.3%. BP pays out 2,375.3% 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 57.0% of its earnings in the form of a dividend.

Summary

Shell beats BP on 14 of the 20 factors compared between the two stocks.