Halliburton (HAL) Competitors

Halliburton (NYSE:HAL) and Baker Hughes (NASDAQ:BKR) are both large-cap energy companies, but which is the better investment? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their valuation, analyst recommendations, media sentiment, profitability, dividends, earnings, risk and institutional ownership.

Which has more volatility and risk, HAL or BKR?

Halliburton has a beta of 1.12, meaning that its share price is 12% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Baker Hughes has a beta of 0.94, meaning that its share price is 6% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Is HAL or BKR a better dividend stock?

Halliburton pays an annual dividend of $0.68 per share and has a dividend yield of 3.2%. Baker Hughes pays an annual dividend of $0.92 per share and has a dividend yield of 2.1%. Halliburton pays out 31.8% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Baker Hughes pays out 30.1% 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. Halliburton has increased its dividend for 4 consecutive years and Baker Hughes has increased its dividend for 4 consecutive years.

Do analysts prefer HAL or BKR?

Halliburton currently has a consensus price target of $31.00, suggesting a potential upside of 43.92%. Baker Hughes has a consensus price target of $51.47, suggesting a potential upside of 18.30%. Given Halliburton's higher probable upside, equities research analysts plainly believe Halliburton is more favorable than Baker Hughes.

Company	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Halliburton	0 Sell rating(s)	8 Hold rating(s)	12 Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.60
Baker Hughes	0 Sell rating(s)	3 Hold rating(s)	18 Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.86

Does the media prefer HAL or BKR?

In the previous week, Baker Hughes had 31 more articles in the media than Halliburton. MarketBeat recorded 58 mentions for Baker Hughes and 27 mentions for Halliburton. Baker Hughes' average media sentiment score of 0.98 beat Halliburton's score of 0.41 indicating that Baker Hughes is being referred to more favorably in the news media.

Company	Very Positive	Positive	Neutral	Negative	Very Negative	Overall Sentiment
Halliburton	9 Very Positive mention(s)	5 Positive mention(s)	3 Neutral mention(s)	1 Negative mention(s)	4 Very Negative mention(s)	Neutral
Baker Hughes	27 Very Positive mention(s)	5 Positive mention(s)	9 Neutral mention(s)	3 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Positive

Which has preferable earnings & valuation, HAL or BKR?

Baker Hughes has higher revenue and earnings than Halliburton. Halliburton is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Baker Hughes, 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
Halliburton	$22.94B	0.80	$2.50B	$2.14	10.07
Baker Hughes	$27.83B	1.54	$2.98B	$3.06	14.22

Is HAL or BKR more profitable?

Baker Hughes has a net margin of 11.04% compared to Halliburton's net margin of 8.37%. Halliburton's return on equity of 21.45% beat Baker Hughes' return on equity.

Company	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Halliburton	8.37%	21.45%	8.85%
Baker Hughes	11.04%	14.56%	6.53%

Do insiders & institutionals have more ownership in HAL or BKR?

85.2% of Halliburton shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 92.1% of Baker Hughes shares are held by institutional investors. 0.6% of Halliburton shares are held by company insiders. Comparatively, 0.3% of Baker Hughes shares are held by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, large money managers and endowments believe a stock will outperform the market over the long term.

Summary

Baker Hughes beats Halliburton on 12 of the 18 factors compared between the two stocks.