BP (NYSE:BP) vs. Vista Energy (NYSE:VIST) Head to Head Analysis

BP (NYSE:BP) and Vista Energy (NYSE:VIST) are both energy companies, but which is the better stock? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their risk, dividends, valuation, analyst recommendations, earnings, profitability and institutional ownership.

Institutional & Insider Ownership

11.0% of BP shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 63.8% of Vista Energy shares are owned by institutional investors. 1.0% of BP shares are owned by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, large money managers and hedge funds believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.

Volatility & Risk

BP has a beta of 0.54, indicating that its stock price is 46% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Vista Energy has a beta of 1, indicating that its stock price has a similar volatility profile to the S&P 500.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a summary of recent ratings for BP and Vista Energy, as provided by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
BP	2	14	1	3	2.25
Vista Energy	0	0	4	2	3.33

BP currently has a consensus target price of $35.50, suggesting a potential upside of 10.34%. Vista Energy has a consensus target price of $65.68, suggesting a potential upside of 47.78%. Given Vista Energy’s stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, analysts clearly believe Vista Energy is more favorable than BP.

Profitability

This table compares BP and Vista Energy’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
BP	-0.62%	9.51%	2.74%
Vista Energy	29.12%	12.02%	4.55%

Earnings & Valuation

This table compares BP and Vista Energy”s revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
BP	$194.63 billion	0.44	$381.00 million	($0.46)	-69.94
Vista Energy	$1.65 billion	2.57	$477.52 million	$5.55	8.01

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

Summary

Vista Energy beats BP on 12 of the 15 factors compared between the two stocks.

About BP

BP p.l.c. provides carbon products and services. The company operates through Gas & Low Carbon Energy, Oil Production & Operations, and Customers & Products segments. It engages in the production of natural gas, and integrated gas and power; trading of gas; operation of onshore and offshore wind power, as well as hydrogen and carbon capture and storage facilities; trading and marketing of renewable and non-renewable power; and production of crude oil. In addition, the company involved in convenience and retail fuel, EV charging, Castrol lubricant, aviation, B2B, and midstream businesses; refining and oil trading; and bioenergy business. The company was founded in 1908 and is headquartered in London, the United Kingdom.

About Vista Energy

Vista Energy, S.A.B. de C.V., through its subsidiaries, engages in the exploration and production of oil and gas in Latin America. The company's principal assets located in Neuquina basin, Argentina and Vaca Muerta. It owns producing assets in Argentina and Mexico. In addition, the company involved in drilling and workover activities located in Argentina. The company was formerly known as Vista Oil & Gas, S.A.B. de C.V. and changed its name to Vista Energy, S.A.B. de C.V. in April 2022. Vista Energy, S.A.B. de C.V. was incorporated in 2017 and is based in Mexico City, Mexico.