Murphy Oil (NYSE:MUR – Get Free Report) and Geopark (NYSE:GPRK – Get Free Report) are both energy companies, but which is the superior investment? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their institutional ownership, risk, analyst recommendations, profitability, earnings, dividends and valuation.
Dividends
Murphy Oil pays an annual dividend of $1.30 per share and has a dividend yield of 4.6%. Geopark pays an annual dividend of $0.12 per share and has a dividend yield of 1.5%. Murphy Oil pays out 132.7% of its earnings in the form of a dividend, suggesting it may not have sufficient earnings to cover its dividend payment in the future. Geopark pays out 18.5% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Murphy Oil has raised its dividend for 5 consecutive years and Geopark has raised its dividend for 3 consecutive years. Murphy Oil is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and longer track record of dividend growth.
Institutional & Insider Ownership
78.3% of Murphy Oil shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 68.2% of Geopark shares are held by institutional investors. 6.5% of Murphy Oil shares are held by insiders. Comparatively, 1.5% of Geopark shares are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, endowments and hedge funds believe a company is poised for long-term growth.
Earnings and Valuation
| Gross Revenue | Price/Sales Ratio | Net Income | Earnings Per Share | Price/Earnings Ratio | |
| Murphy Oil | $2.75 billion | 1.48 | $407.17 million | $0.98 | 29.01 |
| Geopark | $560.35 million | 0.75 | $96.38 million | $0.65 | 12.65 |
Murphy Oil has higher revenue and earnings than Geopark. Geopark is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Murphy Oil, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.
Risk & Volatility
Murphy Oil has a beta of 0.99, meaning that its stock price is 1% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Geopark has a beta of 0.77, meaning that its stock price is 23% less volatile than the S&P 500.
Profitability
This table compares Murphy Oil and Geopark’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.
| Net Margins | Return on Equity | Return on Assets | |
| Murphy Oil | 10.20% | 5.25% | 2.88% |
| Geopark | 7.70% | 35.65% | 6.44% |
Analyst Ratings
This is a breakdown of recent ratings and price targets for Murphy Oil and Geopark, as reported by MarketBeat.com.
| Sell Ratings | Hold Ratings | Buy Ratings | Strong Buy Ratings | Rating Score | |
| Murphy Oil | 3 | 11 | 1 | 0 | 1.87 |
| Geopark | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2.50 |
Murphy Oil currently has a consensus target price of $28.33, indicating a potential downside of 0.32%. Given Murphy Oil’s higher possible upside, analysts clearly believe Murphy Oil is more favorable than Geopark.
Summary
Murphy Oil beats Geopark on 12 of the 16 factors compared between the two stocks.
About Murphy Oil
Murphy Oil Corporation, together with its subsidiaries, operates as an oil and gas exploration and production company in the United States, Canada, and internationally. It explores for and produces crude oil, natural gas, and natural gas liquids. The company was formerly known as Murphy Corporation and changed its name to Murphy Oil Corporation in 1964. The company was incorporated in 1950 and is headquartered in Houston, Texas.
About Geopark
GeoPark Limited operates as an oil and natural gas exploration and production company primarily in Chile, Colombia, Brazil, Argentina, Ecuador, and other Latin American countries. It engages in the exploration, development, and production of oil and gas reserves. The company was formerly known as GeoPark Holdings Limited and changed its name to GeoPark Limited in July 2013. GeoPark Limited was founded in 2002 and is based in Bogotá, Colombia.
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