Reviewing Geopark (NYSE:GPRK) & Biloxi Marsh Lands (OTCMKTS:BLMC)

Geopark (NYSE:GPRK) and Biloxi Marsh Lands (OTCMKTS:BLMC) are both small-cap energy companies, but which is the better stock? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their dividends, institutional ownership, valuation, earnings, analyst recommendations, profitability and risk.

Profitability

This table compares Geopark and Biloxi Marsh Lands’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Geopark	7.70%	35.65%	6.44%
Biloxi Marsh Lands	N/A	N/A	N/A

Analyst Recommendations

This is a summary of recent ratings for Geopark and Biloxi Marsh Lands, as reported by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Geopark	0	0	2	0	3.00
Biloxi Marsh Lands	0	0	0	0	0.00

Geopark currently has a consensus target price of $11.00, indicating a potential upside of 63.23%. Given Geopark’s stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, research analysts clearly believe Geopark is more favorable than Biloxi Marsh Lands.

Dividends

Geopark pays an annual dividend of $0.59 per share and has a dividend yield of 8.8%. Biloxi Marsh Lands pays an annual dividend of $0.12 per share and has a dividend yield of 6.4%. Geopark pays out 71.1% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Biloxi Marsh Lands pays out -150.0% 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 increased its dividend for 3 consecutive years. Geopark is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and longer track record of dividend growth.

Insider and Institutional Ownership

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

Earnings & Valuation

This table compares Geopark and Biloxi Marsh Lands”s gross revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Geopark	$660.80 million	0.52	$96.38 million	$0.83	8.12
Biloxi Marsh Lands	N/A	N/A	$100,000.00	($0.08)	-23.56

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

Volatility and Risk

Geopark has a beta of 0.83, indicating that its stock price is 17% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Biloxi Marsh Lands has a beta of -1.6, indicating that its stock price is 260% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Summary

Geopark beats Biloxi Marsh Lands on 15 of the 16 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 Biloxi Marsh Lands

Biloxi Marsh Lands Corporation engages in the exploration, development, and production of oil and natural gas properties. It owns approximately 90,000 acres of surface, subsurface, and minerals in St. Bernard Parish, Louisiana. The company was incorporated in 1936 and is based in Metairie, Louisiana.