Financial Comparison: Occidental Petroleum (NYSE:OXY) & BW LPG (NYSE:BWLP)

Occidental Petroleum (NYSE:OXY) and BW LPG (NYSE:BWLP) are both energy companies, but which is the superior investment? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their valuation, analyst recommendations, profitability, institutional ownership, risk, dividends and earnings.

Valuation & Earnings

This table compares Occidental Petroleum and BW LPG”s top-line revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Occidental Petroleum	$22.07 billion	2.77	$2.33 billion	$6.46	9.46
BW LPG	$3.58 billion	1.06	$242.31 million	$2.94	8.51

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

Profitability

This table compares Occidental Petroleum and BW LPG’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Occidental Petroleum	28.36%	15.31%	5.69%
BW LPG	12.64%	22.48%	13.50%

Analyst Ratings

This is a breakdown of current ratings and recommmendations for Occidental Petroleum and BW LPG, as reported by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Occidental Petroleum	0	17	10	0	2.37
BW LPG	0	1	4	0	2.80

Occidental Petroleum currently has a consensus price target of $64.96, suggesting a potential upside of 6.25%. Given Occidental Petroleum’s higher probable upside, equities analysts plainly believe Occidental Petroleum is more favorable than BW LPG.

Insider and Institutional Ownership

88.7% of Occidental Petroleum shares are held by institutional investors. 0.5% of Occidental Petroleum shares are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, endowments and large money managers believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.

Volatility & Risk

Occidental Petroleum has a beta of 0.16, suggesting that its share price is 84% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, BW LPG has a beta of 0.99, suggesting that its share price is 1% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Dividends

Occidental Petroleum pays an annual dividend of $1.04 per share and has a dividend yield of 1.7%. BW LPG pays an annual dividend of $3.80 per share and has a dividend yield of 15.2%. Occidental Petroleum pays out 16.1% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. BW LPG pays out 129.3% of its earnings in the form of a dividend, suggesting it may not have sufficient earnings to cover its dividend payment in the future. Occidental Petroleum has raised its dividend for 5 consecutive years.

Summary

Occidental Petroleum beats BW LPG on 12 of the 17 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Occidental Petroleum

Occidental Petroleum Corporation, together with its subsidiaries, engages in the acquisition, exploration, and development of oil and gas properties in the United States, the Middle East, and North Africa. It operates through three segments: Oil and Gas, Chemical, and Midstream and Marketing. The company's Oil and Gas segment explores for, develops, and produces oil and condensate, natural gas liquids (NGLs), and natural gas. Its Chemical segment manufactures and markets basic chemicals, including chlorine, caustic soda, chlorinated organics, potassium chemicals, ethylene dichloride, chlorinated isocyanurates, sodium silicates, and calcium chloride; and vinyls comprising vinyl chloride monomer, polyvinyl chloride, and ethylene. The Midstream and Marketing segment gathers, processes, transports, stores, purchases, and markets oil, condensate, NGLs, natural gas, carbon dioxide, and power. This segment also invests in entities. Occidental Petroleum Corporation was founded in 1920 and is headquartered in Houston, Texas.

About BW LPG

BW LPG Limited, an investment holding company, engages in ship owning and chartering activities worldwide. The company operates through Shipping and Product Services segments. The company involved in the transportation of liquefied petroleum gas to oil companies, and trading and utility companies. It also offers integrated liquified petroleum gas (LPG) delivery services and support; wholesale and trade of LPG; and management services. It owns and operates LPG vessels and a fleet of very large gas carriers. The company was formerly known as BW Gas LPG Holding Limited and changed its name to BW LPG Limited in September 2013. BW LPG Limited was founded in 1935 and is headquartered in Singapore.