Contrasting W&T Offshore (NYSE:WTI) and Sky Petroleum (OTCMKTS:SKPI)

Sky Petroleum (OTCMKTS:SKPI) and W&T Offshore (NYSE:WTI) are both energy companies, but which is the better business? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their earnings, risk, dividends, institutional ownership, profitability, valuation and analyst recommendations.

Institutional and Insider Ownership

42.9% of W&T Offshore shares are held by institutional investors. 35.9% of W&T Offshore shares are held by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, large money managers and endowments believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Valuation and Earnings

This table compares Sky Petroleum and W&T Offshore”s gross revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Sky Petroleum	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A
W&T Offshore	$501.46 million	0.99	-$150.06 million	($0.95)	-3.50

Sky Petroleum has higher earnings, but lower revenue than W&T Offshore.

Risk and Volatility

Sky Petroleum has a beta of -16.36, suggesting that its share price is 1,736% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, W&T Offshore has a beta of 0.24, suggesting that its share price is 76% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Analyst Ratings

This is a summary of recent ratings and price targets for Sky Petroleum and W&T Offshore, as provided by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Sky Petroleum	0	0	0	0	0.00
W&T Offshore	1	1	2	0	2.25

Profitability

This table compares Sky Petroleum and W&T Offshore’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Sky Petroleum	N/A	N/A	N/A
W&T Offshore	-27.23%	N/A	-4.12%

Summary

W&T Offshore beats Sky Petroleum on 6 of the 8 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Sky Petroleum

Sky Petroleum, Inc. acquires, explores, develops, and produces oil and natural gas properties of others under arrangements in which the company finances the costs in exchange for interests in the oil or natural gas revenue generated by the properties. It has a production sharing contract with the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Energy of Albania for three exploration blocks, including Four, Five, and Dumre blocks in the Republic of Albania. The company was formerly known as Seaside Explorations, Inc. and changed its name to Sky Petroleum, Inc. in March 2005. Sky Petroleum, Inc. was founded in 2002 and is based in Frisco, Texas.

About W&T Offshore

W&T Offshore, Inc. engages in the production, exploration, development, and acquisition of oil and natural gas properties. It focuses its operations in the Gulf of Mexico. The company was founded by Tracy W. Krohn in 1983 and is headquartered in Houston, TX.