Contrasting Geopark (NYSE:GPRK) & Mplx (NYSE:MPLX)

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

Dividends

Geopark pays an annual dividend of $0.09 per share and has a dividend yield of 1.0%. Mplx pays an annual dividend of $4.84 per share and has a dividend yield of 8.4%. Geopark pays out 7.1% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Mplx pays out 113.1% of its earnings in the form of a dividend, suggesting it may not have sufficient earnings to cover its dividend payment in the future. Geopark has raised its dividend for 3 consecutive years and Mplx has raised its dividend for 9 consecutive years. Mplx is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and longer track record of dividend growth.

Profitability

This table compares Geopark and Mplx’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Geopark	14.43%	23.64%	5.92%
Mplx	32.91%	30.30%	10.04%

Analyst Ratings

This is a summary of recent recommendations and price targets for Geopark and Mplx, as provided by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Geopark	0	2	1	0	2.33
Mplx	0	7	6	1	2.57

Geopark currently has a consensus price target of $13.50, indicating a potential upside of 43.53%. Mplx has a consensus price target of $63.30, indicating a potential upside of 10.48%. Given Geopark’s higher possible upside, analysts plainly believe Geopark is more favorable than Mplx.

Institutional and Insider Ownership

68.2% of Geopark shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 24.2% of Mplx shares are owned by institutional investors. 1.5% of Geopark shares are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, endowments and hedge funds believe a stock will outperform the market over the long term.

Earnings & Valuation

This table compares Geopark and Mplx”s top-line revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Geopark	$592.22 million	0.82	$49.67 million	$1.27	7.41
Mplx	$13.00 billion	4.47	$4.91 billion	$4.28	13.39

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

Risk & Volatility

Geopark has a beta of 0.37, suggesting that its share price is 63% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Mplx has a beta of 0.48, suggesting that its share price is 52% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Summary

Mplx beats Geopark on 14 of the 18 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Geopark

GeoPark Limited is an independent energy company focused on exploring, developing and producing oil and natural gas in Latin America. Its activities span the energy-production lifecycle, from evaluating prospective areas and drilling wells to operating producing fields. Founded in 2002, the company built its business in the region and has had a significant operating presence in Colombia. Its portfolio and exploration activities have also included other Latin American countries, with assets changing over time.

About Mplx

MPLX LP is a diversified midstream energy company formed by Marathon Petroleum in 2012. It owns and operates infrastructure that gathers, processes, transports and stores energy products, connecting producers and refiners with customers and markets. The company’s assets include natural gas and natural gas liquids gathering and processing facilities, pipelines and fractionation plants, as well as crude oil and refined-product pipelines, storage terminals and inland marine transport operations. Its network serves energy-producing and refining regions across the United States.