SM Energy (NYSE:SM) versus BKV (NYSE:BKV) Critical Survey

BKV (NYSE:BKV) and SM Energy (NYSE:SM) are both oils/energy companies, but which is the superior business? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their earnings, risk, analyst recommendations, dividends, institutional ownership, valuation and profitability.

Institutional and Insider Ownership

94.6% of SM Energy shares are owned by institutional investors. 1.5% of SM Energy 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 BKV and SM Energy’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
BKV	N/A	N/A	N/A
SM Energy	28.63%	19.82%	10.59%

Analyst Ratings

This is a breakdown of recent recommendations for BKV and SM Energy, as reported by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
BKV	0	0	8	0	3.00
SM Energy	0	6	6	1	2.62

BKV currently has a consensus target price of $28.00, indicating a potential upside of 36.97%. SM Energy has a consensus target price of $49.00, indicating a potential upside of 62.10%. Given SM Energy’s higher possible upside, analysts plainly believe SM Energy is more favorable than BKV.

Earnings and Valuation

This table compares BKV and SM Energy”s revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
BKV	$604.53 million	2.86	N/A	N/A	N/A
SM Energy	$2.67 billion	1.30	$817.88 million	$6.68	4.53

SM Energy has higher revenue and earnings than BKV.

Summary

SM Energy beats BKV on 8 of the 11 factors compared between the two stocks.

About BKV

BKV Corporation engages in the acquisition, operation, and development of natural gas and NGL properties. It is also involved in the gathering, processing, and transportation of natural gas. The company was founded in 2015 and is based in Denver, Colorado with additional offices in Tunkhannock, Pennsylvania and Fort Worth, Texas. BKV Corporation, LLC operates as a subsidiary of Banpu North America Corporation.

About SM Energy

SM Energy Company, an independent energy company, engages in the acquisition, exploration, development, and production of oil, gas, and natural gas liquids in the state of Texas. It has working interests in oil and gas producing wells in the Midland Basin and South Texas. The company was formerly known as St. Mary Land & Exploration Company and changed its name to SM Energy Company in May 2010. SM Energy Company was founded in 1908 and is headquartered in Denver, Colorado.