Plains GP (NYSE:PAGP) and Murphy Oil (NYSE:MUR) Head to Head Contrast

Plains GP (NYSE:PAGP) and Murphy Oil (NYSE:MUR) are both mid-cap energy companies, but which is the better stock? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their institutional ownership, risk, dividends, valuation, analyst recommendations, profitability and earnings.

Profitability

This table compares Plains GP and Murphy Oil’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Plains GP	0.21%	0.70%	0.36%
Murphy Oil	14.90%	8.41%	4.43%

Dividends

Plains GP pays an annual dividend of $1.67 per share and has a dividend yield of 6.5%. Murphy Oil pays an annual dividend of $1.40 per share and has a dividend yield of 4.0%. Plains GP pays out 75.2% of its earnings in the form of a dividend, suggesting it may not have sufficient earnings to cover its dividend payment in the future. Murphy Oil pays out 43.6% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Murphy Oil has raised its dividend for 5 consecutive years.

Earnings and Valuation

This table compares Plains GP and Murphy Oil”s revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Plains GP	$52.30 billion	0.10	$103.00 million	$2.22	11.49
Murphy Oil	$2.72 billion	1.83	$104.23 million	$3.21	10.82

Murphy Oil has lower revenue, but higher earnings than Plains GP. Murphy Oil is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Plains GP, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Risk and Volatility

Plains GP has a beta of 0.54, meaning that its stock price is 46% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Murphy Oil has a beta of 0.52, meaning that its stock price is 48% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Institutional & Insider Ownership

88.3% of Plains GP shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 78.3% of Murphy Oil shares are held by institutional investors. 6.9% of Plains GP shares are held by insiders. Comparatively, 5.8% of Murphy Oil shares are held 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.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a summary of recent recommendations and price targets for Plains GP and Murphy Oil, as provided by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Plains GP	2	6	5	1	2.36
Murphy Oil	2	8	4	1	2.27

Plains GP currently has a consensus target price of $26.00, suggesting a potential upside of 1.92%. Murphy Oil has a consensus target price of $39.75, suggesting a potential upside of 14.44%. Given Murphy Oil’s higher possible upside, analysts clearly believe Murphy Oil is more favorable than Plains GP.

Summary

Murphy Oil beats Plains GP on 9 of the 17 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Plains GP

Plains GP Holdings is a publicly traded holding company whose primary business is its ownership interest in Plains All American Pipeline. Through that relationship, it is tied to a midstream energy business focused on transporting, storing, gathering and marketing crude oil and natural gas liquids. Plains All American Pipeline operates pipelines, storage facilities and other logistics infrastructure that connect energy producers with refineries and other customers. Its operations span the United States and Canada, serving key crude oil and natural gas liquids markets.

About Murphy Oil

Murphy Oil Corporation is an independent oil and natural gas exploration and production company. It explores for and develops crude oil, natural gas and natural gas liquids, with operations focused on onshore areas of the United States and Canada and offshore areas in the Gulf of Mexico. The company traces its roots to 1950, when it was founded as Murphy Corporation. Over time, Murphy shifted its focus toward exploration and production and expanded its activities internationally, later concentrating its portfolio on North American assets.