Baytex Energy (NYSE:BTE – Get Free Report) and W&T Offshore (NYSE:WTI – 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 risk, valuation, institutional ownership, earnings, dividends, analyst recommendations and profitability.
Risk and Volatility
Baytex Energy has a beta of 0.4, indicating that its share price is 60% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, W&T Offshore has a beta of 0.35, indicating that its share price is 65% less volatile than the S&P 500.
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 -11.8% 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.
Insider & Institutional Ownership
46.2% of Baytex Energy shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 42.9% of W&T Offshore shares are owned by institutional investors. 0.8% of Baytex Energy shares are owned by insiders. Comparatively, 35.9% of W&T Offshore shares are owned by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, hedge funds and endowments believe a company is poised for long-term growth.
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 | -8.44% | N/A | -1.74% |
Analyst Ratings
This is a summary of recent recommendations 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 | 5 | 3 | 3 | 2.82 |
| W&T Offshore | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2.00 |
W&T Offshore has a consensus price target of $4.25, indicating a potential upside of 4.94%. Given W&T Offshore’s higher probable upside, analysts clearly believe W&T Offshore is more favorable than Baytex Energy.
Valuation and Earnings
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 | $1.91 billion | 1.95 | -$432.12 million | ($0.67) | -8.04 |
| W&T Offshore | $561.87 million | 1.09 | -$150.06 million | ($0.34) | -11.91 |
W&T Offshore has lower revenue, but higher earnings than Baytex Energy. W&T Offshore is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Baytex Energy, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.
Summary
Baytex Energy beats W&T Offshore on 9 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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