Baytex Energy (NYSE:BTE – Get Free Report) and W&T Offshore (NYSE:WTI – Get Free Report) are both energy companies, but which is the better investment? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their risk, analyst recommendations, valuation, institutional ownership, profitability, earnings and dividends.
Risk & Volatility
Baytex Energy has a beta of 0.4, indicating that its stock price is 60% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, W&T Offshore has a beta of 0.35, indicating that its stock price is 65% less volatile than the S&P 500.
Earnings and Valuation
This table compares Baytex Energy and W&T Offshore”s revenue, earnings per share and valuation.
| Gross Revenue | Price/Sales Ratio | Net Income | Earnings Per Share | Price/Earnings Ratio | |
| Baytex Energy | $2.56 billion | 1.48 | -$432.12 million | ($0.67) | -8.20 |
| W&T Offshore | $501.46 million | 1.26 | -$150.06 million | ($0.73) | -5.75 |
W&T Offshore has lower revenue, but higher earnings than Baytex Energy. Baytex Energy is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than W&T Offshore, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.
Dividends
Baytex Energy pays an annual dividend of $0.06 per share and has a dividend yield of 1.1%. W&T Offshore pays an annual dividend of $0.04 per share and has a dividend yield of 1.0%. Baytex Energy pays out -9.0% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. W&T Offshore pays out -5.5% 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. Baytex Energy is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and lower payout ratio.
Institutional & Insider Ownership
46.1% of Baytex Energy shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 42.9% of W&T Offshore shares are held by institutional investors. 0.8% of Baytex Energy shares are held by company insiders. Comparatively, 35.9% of W&T Offshore shares are held by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, large money managers and hedge funds believe a stock will outperform the market over the long term.
Profitability
This table compares Baytex Energy and W&T Offshore’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.
| Net Margins | Return on Equity | Return on Assets | |
| Baytex Energy | -26.43% | -7.77% | -4.86% |
| W&T Offshore | -19.32% | N/A | -2.59% |
Analyst Recommendations
This is a breakdown of current ratings and recommmendations for Baytex Energy and W&T Offshore, as provided by MarketBeat.com.
| Sell Ratings | Hold Ratings | Buy Ratings | Strong Buy Ratings | Rating Score | |
| Baytex Energy | 0 | 6 | 2 | 3 | 2.73 |
| W&T Offshore | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2.00 |
W&T Offshore has a consensus target price of $4.25, indicating a potential upside of 1.31%. Given W&T Offshore’s higher probable upside, analysts plainly believe W&T Offshore is more favorable than Baytex Energy.
Summary
Baytex Energy beats W&T Offshore on 10 of the 17 factors compared between the two stocks.
About Baytex Energy
Baytex Energy Corp. is an oil & gas exploration and production company. The firm engages in the acquisition, development and production of crude oil and natural gas in the Western Canadian Sedimentary Basin and in the Eagle Ford in the United States. The company was founded on June 3, 1993 and is headquartered in Calgary, Canada.
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.
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