ConocoPhillips (COP) Competitors

ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) and APA (NASDAQ:APA) are both energy companies, but which is the superior business? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their valuation, institutional ownership, dividends, risk, earnings, media sentiment, analyst recommendations and profitability.

Do insiders and institutionals believe in COP or APA?

82.4% of ConocoPhillips shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 83.0% of APA shares are held by institutional investors. 0.2% of ConocoPhillips shares are held by company insiders. Comparatively, 0.7% of APA shares are held by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, hedge funds and endowments believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.

Is COP or APA more profitable?

ConocoPhillips has a net margin of 16.02% compared to APA's net margin of 9.75%. APA's return on equity of 23.22% beat ConocoPhillips' return on equity.

Company	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
ConocoPhillips	16.02%	16.54%	8.64%
APA	9.75%	23.22%	7.63%

Is COP or APA a better dividend stock?

ConocoPhillips pays an annual dividend of $3.12 per share and has a dividend yield of 3.4%. APA pays an annual dividend of $1.00 per share and has a dividend yield of 5.5%. ConocoPhillips pays out 39.6% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. APA pays out 36.0% 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. APA is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and lower payout ratio.

Which has better valuation & earnings, COP or APA?

ConocoPhillips has higher revenue and earnings than APA. APA is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than ConocoPhillips, 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
ConocoPhillips	$57.41B	2.02	$9.25B	$7.87	11.63
APA	$9.74B	0.67	$804M	$2.78	6.53

Does the media refer more to COP or APA?

In the previous week, ConocoPhillips had 16 more articles in the media than APA. MarketBeat recorded 56 mentions for ConocoPhillips and 40 mentions for APA. ConocoPhillips' average media sentiment score of 1.13 beat APA's score of 0.44 indicating that ConocoPhillips is being referred to more favorably in the media.

Company	Very Positive	Positive	Neutral	Negative	Very Negative	Overall Sentiment
ConocoPhillips	36 Very Positive mention(s)	5 Positive mention(s)	7 Neutral mention(s)	3 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Positive
APA	11 Very Positive mention(s)	6 Positive mention(s)	10 Neutral mention(s)	2 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Neutral

Do analysts prefer COP or APA?

ConocoPhillips presently has a consensus price target of $122.21, suggesting a potential upside of 33.50%. APA has a consensus price target of $24.41, suggesting a potential upside of 34.57%. Given APA's higher possible upside, analysts plainly believe APA is more favorable than ConocoPhillips.

Company	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
ConocoPhillips	0 Sell rating(s)	2 Hold rating(s)	16 Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.89
APA	3 Sell rating(s)	10 Hold rating(s)	4 Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.06

Which has more risk & volatility, COP or APA?

ConocoPhillips has a beta of 0.61, indicating that its share price is 39% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, APA has a beta of 1.25, indicating that its share price is 25% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Summary

ConocoPhillips beats APA on 11 of the 18 factors compared between the two stocks.