Financial Survey: Anadarko Petroleum (NASDAQ:APC) versus Chesapeake Energy (OTCMKTS:CHKAQ)

Anadarko Petroleum (NASDAQ:APC) and Chesapeake Energy (OTCMKTS:CHKAQ) are both small-cap energy companies, but which is the better stock? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their dividends, valuation, risk, institutional ownership, analyst recommendations, earnings and profitability.

Profitability

This table compares Anadarko Petroleum and Chesapeake Energy’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Anadarko Petroleum	-4.20%	10.49%	2.68%
Chesapeake Energy	-162.46%	N/A	-3.45%

Analyst Ratings

This is a breakdown of recent ratings for Anadarko Petroleum and Chesapeake Energy, as reported by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Anadarko Petroleum	0	2	3	1	2.83
Chesapeake Energy	0	0	0	0	0.00

Anadarko Petroleum currently has a consensus price target of $21.60, suggesting a potential upside of 14.59%. Given Anadarko Petroleum’s stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, analysts clearly believe Anadarko Petroleum is more favorable than Chesapeake Energy.

Volatility & Risk

Anadarko Petroleum has a beta of 1.64, indicating that its share price is 64% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Chesapeake Energy has a beta of 1.25, indicating that its share price is 25% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Institutional and Insider Ownership

85.2% of Anadarko Petroleum shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 2.0% of Chesapeake Energy shares are owned by institutional investors. 0.5% of Anadarko Petroleum shares are owned by company insiders. Comparatively, 1.1% of Chesapeake Energy shares are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, hedge funds and large money managers believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Valuation and Earnings

This table compares Anadarko Petroleum and Chesapeake Energy”s top-line revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Anadarko Petroleum	$5.58 billion	0.04	$615.00 million	$0.23	81.96
Chesapeake Energy	$8.49 billion	0.00	-$308.00 million	($54.00)	-0.06

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

Summary

Anadarko Petroleum beats Chesapeake Energy on 13 of the 15 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Anadarko Petroleum

Anadarko Petroleum Corporation engages in the exploration, development, production, and marketing of oil and gas properties. It operates through three segments: Exploration and Production, WES Midstream, and Other Midstream. The company explores for and produces oil, natural gas, and natural gas liquids (NGLs). It is also involved in gathering, processing, treating, and transporting oil, natural-gas, and NGLs production, as well as the gathering and disposal of produced water. The company's oil and natural gas properties are located in the United States onshore and deepwater Gulf of Mexico; and Algeria, Ghana, Mozambique, Colombia, Peru, and other countries. As of December 31, 2018, it had approximately 1.5 billion barrels of oil equivalent of proved reserves. The company was founded in 1959 and is headquartered in The Woodlands, Texas.

About Chesapeake Energy

Chesapeake Energy Corp. is an independent exploration and production company, which engages in acquisition, exploration and development of properties for the production of oil, natural gas and natural gas liquids from underground reservoirs. It focuses on projects located in Louisiana, Ohio, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, Texas, and Wyoming. The company was founded by Aubrey K. McClendon and Tom L. Ward on May 18, 1989 and is headquartered in Oklahoma City, OK.