Critical Contrast: Baytex Energy (OTCMKTS:BTEGF) versus Sunoco (NYSE:SUN)

Baytex Energy (OTCMKTS:BTEGF) and Sunoco (NYSE:SUN) are both energy companies, but which is the superior business? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their earnings, analyst recommendations, institutional ownership, dividends, profitability, valuation and risk.

Volatility & Risk

Baytex Energy has a beta of 2.16, suggesting that its share price is 116% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Sunoco has a beta of 0.43, suggesting that its share price is 57% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Insider and Institutional Ownership

24.3% of Sunoco shares are held by institutional investors. 0.8% of Baytex Energy shares are held by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, hedge funds and large money managers believe a stock will outperform the market over the long term.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a breakdown of recent recommendations and price targets for Baytex Energy and Sunoco, as reported by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Baytex Energy	0	2	1	0	2.33
Sunoco	0	1	8	1	3.00

Sunoco has a consensus price target of $79.00, suggesting a potential upside of 5.46%. Given Sunoco’s stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, analysts clearly believe Sunoco is more favorable than Baytex Energy.

Profitability

This table compares Baytex Energy and Sunoco’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Baytex Energy	38.28%	40.85%	20.18%
Sunoco	2.88%	18.78%	4.29%

Valuation and Earnings

This table compares Baytex Energy and Sunoco”s revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Baytex Energy	$2.79 billion	0.90	$1.29 billion	$1.47	3.15
Sunoco	$25.20 billion	0.61	$527.00 million	$4.52	16.57

Baytex Energy has higher earnings, but lower revenue than Sunoco. Baytex Energy is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Sunoco, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Summary

Sunoco beats Baytex Energy on 8 of the 15 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Baytex Energy

Baytex Energy Corp. operates as an oil & gas exploration and production company. It 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 in 1993 and is headquartered in Calgary, Canada.

About Sunoco

Sunoco LP, together with its subsidiaries, distributes and retails motor fuels in the United States. It operates through two segments: Fuel Distribution and Marketing, and All Other. The Fuel Distribution and Marketing segment purchases motor fuel, as well as other petroleum products, such as propane and lubricating oil from independent refiners and oil companies and supplies it to company-operated retail stores, independently operated commission agents, and retail stores, as well as other commercial customers, including unbranded retail stores, other fuel distributors, school districts, municipalities, and other industrial customers. It owns and operates retail stores under the APlus and Aloha Island Mart brand names; and offers food, beverages, snacks, grocery and non-food merchandise, motor fuels, and other services. The All Other segment includes partnership credit card services, franchise royalties, and retail operations; and offers credit card processing, car washes, lottery, automated teller machines, money order, prepaid phone cards, and wireless services. The company was formerly known as Susser Petroleum Partners LP and changed its name to Sunoco LP in 2014. Sunoco LP was founded in 1886 and is headquartered in Dallas, Texas.