Geopark (NYSE:GPRK) versus EOG Resources (NYSE:EOG) Critical Contrast

Geopark (NYSE:GPRK) and EOG Resources (NYSE:EOG) are both energy companies, but which is the better business? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their valuation, analyst recommendations, dividends, profitability, risk, institutional ownership and earnings.

Analyst Ratings

This is a summary of current recommendations and price targets for Geopark and EOG Resources, as provided by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Geopark	0	2	2	0	2.50
EOG Resources	0	16	13	1	2.50

Geopark currently has a consensus target price of $11.50, suggesting a potential upside of 13.75%. EOG Resources has a consensus target price of $156.32, suggesting a potential upside of 20.20%. Given EOG Resources’ higher probable upside, analysts plainly believe EOG Resources is more favorable than Geopark.

Risk and Volatility

Geopark has a beta of 0.36, meaning that its share price is 64% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, EOG Resources has a beta of 0.25, meaning that its share price is 75% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Insider & Institutional Ownership

68.2% of Geopark shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 89.9% of EOG Resources shares are owned by institutional investors. 1.5% of Geopark shares are owned by insiders. Comparatively, 0.1% of EOG Resources shares are owned by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, hedge funds and large money managers believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.

Earnings & Valuation

This table compares Geopark and EOG Resources”s gross revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Geopark	$483.54 million	1.08	$49.67 million	$1.05	9.63
EOG Resources	$23.50 billion	2.95	$4.98 billion	$10.16	12.80

EOG Resources has higher revenue and earnings than Geopark. Geopark is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than EOG Resources, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Profitability

This table compares Geopark and EOG Resources’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Geopark	11.74%	36.71%	8.06%
EOG Resources	23.01%	19.25%	11.37%

Dividends

Geopark pays an annual dividend of $0.09 per share and has a dividend yield of 0.9%. EOG Resources pays an annual dividend of $4.08 per share and has a dividend yield of 3.1%. Geopark pays out 8.6% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. EOG Resources pays out 40.2% 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. Geopark has raised its dividend for 3 consecutive years and EOG Resources has raised its dividend for 8 consecutive years. EOG Resources is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and longer track record of dividend growth.

Summary

EOG Resources beats Geopark on 13 of the 17 factors compared between the two stocks.

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.

About EOG Resources

EOG Resources, Inc., together with its subsidiaries, explores for, develops, produces, and markets crude oil, natural gas liquids, and natural gas primarily in producing basins in the United States, the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago and internationally. The company was formerly known as Enron Oil & Gas Company. EOG Resources, Inc. was incorporated in 1985 and is headquartered in Houston, Texas.