SM Energy (SM) Competitors

Archrock (NYSE:AROC) and SM Energy (NYSE:SM) are both mid-cap energy companies, but which is the superior business? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their media sentiment, analyst recommendations, earnings, risk, profitability, institutional ownership, dividends and valuation.

Does the media prefer AROC or SM?

In the previous week, SM Energy had 5 more articles in the media than Archrock. MarketBeat recorded 8 mentions for SM Energy and 3 mentions for Archrock. SM Energy's average media sentiment score of 1.21 beat Archrock's score of 1.20 indicating that SM Energy is being referred to more favorably in the news media.

Company	Very Positive	Positive	Neutral	Negative	Very Negative	Overall Sentiment
Archrock	3 Very Positive mention(s)	0 Positive mention(s)	0 Neutral mention(s)	0 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Positive
SM Energy	6 Very Positive mention(s)	2 Positive mention(s)	0 Neutral mention(s)	0 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Positive

Which has more risk & volatility, AROC or SM?

Archrock has a beta of 1.08, suggesting that its stock price is 8% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, SM Energy has a beta of 2.16, suggesting that its stock price is 116% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Do institutionals & insiders have more ownership in AROC or SM?

95.5% of Archrock shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 94.6% of SM Energy shares are held by institutional investors. 2.6% of Archrock shares are held by company insiders. Comparatively, 1.5% of SM Energy shares are held by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, endowments and hedge funds believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Do analysts recommend AROC or SM?

Archrock presently has a consensus price target of $26.67, indicating a potential upside of 13.94%. SM Energy has a consensus price target of $42.08, indicating a potential upside of 60.53%. Given SM Energy's higher probable upside, analysts plainly believe SM Energy is more favorable than Archrock.

Company	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Archrock	0 Sell rating(s)	1 Hold rating(s)	6 Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.86
SM Energy	1 Sell rating(s)	6 Hold rating(s)	4 Buy rating(s)	2 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.54

Which has higher earnings & valuation, AROC or SM?

SM Energy has higher revenue and earnings than Archrock. SM Energy is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Archrock, 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
Archrock	$1.16B	3.57	$172.23M	$1.18	19.83
SM Energy	$2.95B	1.02	$770.29M	$7.14	3.67

Is AROC or SM a better dividend stock?

Archrock pays an annual dividend of $0.76 per share and has a dividend yield of 3.2%. SM Energy pays an annual dividend of $0.80 per share and has a dividend yield of 3.1%. Archrock pays out 64.4% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. SM Energy pays out 11.2% 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. Archrock has raised its dividend for 3 consecutive years and SM Energy has raised its dividend for 4 consecutive years.

Is AROC or SM more profitable?

SM Energy has a net margin of 27.61% compared to Archrock's net margin of 16.38%. SM Energy's return on equity of 19.90% beat Archrock's return on equity.

Company	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Archrock	16.38%	18.31%	6.21%
SM Energy	27.61%	19.90%	10.27%

Summary

SM Energy beats Archrock on 13 of the 20 factors compared between the two stocks.