Critical Analysis: Antero Resources (NYSE:AR) & BP (NYSE:BP)

BP (NYSE:BP) and Antero Resources (NYSE:AR) are both large-cap energy companies, but which is the superior investment? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their analyst recommendations, valuation, profitability, dividends, institutional ownership, risk and earnings.

Analyst Ratings

This is a summary of current recommendations and price targets for BP and Antero Resources, as provided by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
BP	2	8	16	1	2.59
Antero Resources	0	6	12	4	2.91

BP presently has a consensus target price of $48.44, suggesting a potential upside of 4.79%. Antero Resources has a consensus target price of $48.11, suggesting a potential upside of 34.01%. Given Antero Resources’ stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, analysts clearly believe Antero Resources is more favorable than BP.

Earnings and Valuation

This table compares BP and Antero Resources”s top-line revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
BP	$192.55 billion	0.63	$55.00 million	$2.05	22.55
Antero Resources	$5.62 billion	1.97	$634.42 million	$3.48	10.32

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

Insider and Institutional Ownership

11.0% of BP shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 83.0% of Antero Resources shares are owned by institutional investors. 1.0% of BP shares are owned by insiders. Comparatively, 4.1% of Antero Resources 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.

Profitability

This table compares BP and Antero Resources’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
BP	2.49%	16.63%	4.39%
Antero Resources	17.68%	9.02%	5.05%

Risk and Volatility

BP has a beta of 0.2, meaning that its share price is 80% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Antero Resources has a beta of 0.54, meaning that its share price is 46% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Summary

Antero Resources beats BP on 11 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 Antero Resources

Antero Resources Corporation, an independent oil and natural gas company, engages in the development, production, exploration, and acquisition of natural gas, natural gas liquids (NGLs), and oil properties in the United States. It operates in three segments: Exploration and Development; Marketing; and Equity Method Investment in Antero Midstream. As of December 31, 2023, the company had approximately 515,000 net acres in the Appalachian Basin; and approximately 172,000 net acres in the Upper Devonian Shale. Its gathering and compression systems also comprise 631 miles of gas gathering pipelines in the Appalachian Basin. The company was formerly known as Antero Resources Appalachian Corporation and changed its name to Antero Resources Corporation in June 2013. Antero Resources Corporation was incorporated in 2002 and is headquartered in Denver, Colorado.