Head to Head Contrast: Gran Tierra Energy (NYSE:GTE) & ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP)

ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) and Gran Tierra Energy (NYSE:GTE) are both energy companies, but which is the superior stock? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their profitability, risk, valuation, earnings, institutional ownership, analyst recommendations and dividends.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a breakdown of recent ratings and price targets for ConocoPhillips and Gran Tierra Energy, as provided by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
ConocoPhillips	2	8	16	2	2.64
Gran Tierra Energy	0	0	2	1	3.33

ConocoPhillips presently has a consensus price target of $145.00, indicating a potential downside of 3.36%. Gran Tierra Energy has a consensus price target of $9.72, indicating a potential downside of 14.01%. Given ConocoPhillips’ higher possible upside, analysts clearly believe ConocoPhillips is more favorable than Gran Tierra Energy.

Profitability

This table compares ConocoPhillips and Gran Tierra Energy’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
ConocoPhillips	14.22%	14.72%	7.77%
Gran Tierra Energy	7.17%	11.36%	3.28%

Risk and Volatility

ConocoPhillips has a beta of 0.24, meaning that its stock price is 76% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Gran Tierra Energy has a beta of 0.37, meaning that its stock price is 63% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Institutional and Insider Ownership

82.4% of ConocoPhillips shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 31.7% of Gran Tierra Energy shares are held by institutional investors. 0.1% of ConocoPhillips shares are held by company insiders. Comparatively, 5.8% of Gran Tierra Energy shares are held by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, endowments and large money managers believe a stock will outperform the market over the long term.

Earnings & Valuation

This table compares ConocoPhillips and Gran Tierra Energy”s gross revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
ConocoPhillips	$61.55 billion	2.93	$7.99 billion	$7.56	19.85
Gran Tierra Energy	$638.42 million	0.63	-$6.29 million	($7.25)	-1.56

ConocoPhillips has higher revenue and earnings than Gran Tierra Energy. Gran Tierra Energy is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than ConocoPhillips, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Summary

ConocoPhillips beats Gran Tierra Energy on 12 of the 15 factors compared between the two stocks.

About ConocoPhillips

ConocoPhillips explores for, produces, transports, and markets crude oil, bitumen, natural gas, liquefied natural gas (LNG), and natural gas liquids in the United States, Canada, China, Libya, Malaysia, Norway, the United Kingdom, and internationally. The company's portfolio includes unconventional plays in North America; conventional assets in North America, Europe, Asia, and Australia; global LNG developments; oil sands assets in Canada; and an inventory of global exploration prospects. ConocoPhillips was founded in 1917 and is headquartered in Houston, Texas.

About Gran Tierra Energy

Gran Tierra Energy Inc., together with its subsidiaries, engages in the exploration and production of oil and gas properties in Colombia and Ecuador. The company was founded in 2003 and is headquartered in Calgary, Canada.