Chesapeake Energy (NASDAQ:CHK) and GeoPark (NYSE:GPRK) Head-To-Head Comparison

GeoPark (NYSE:GPRK) and Chesapeake Energy (NASDAQ:CHK) are both oils/energy companies, but which is the superior investment? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their profitability, risk, institutional ownership, earnings, dividends, analyst recommendations and valuation.

Earnings & Valuation

This table compares GeoPark and Chesapeake Energy’s revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
GeoPark	$756.60 million	0.69	$111.07 million	$1.95	4.81
Chesapeake Energy	$8.72 billion	1.30	$2.42 billion	$7.42	11.68

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

Institutional and Insider Ownership

68.2% of GeoPark shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 97.9% of Chesapeake Energy shares are held by institutional investors. 1.5% of GeoPark shares are held by insiders. Comparatively, 0.1% of Chesapeake Energy shares are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, large money managers and endowments believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.

Analyst Ratings

This is a summary of current recommendations and price targets for GeoPark and Chesapeake Energy, as reported by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
GeoPark	0	0	3	0	3.00
Chesapeake Energy	0	7	6	0	2.46

GeoPark currently has a consensus target price of $13.17, suggesting a potential upside of 40.37%. Chesapeake Energy has a consensus target price of $105.83, suggesting a potential upside of 22.11%. Given GeoPark’s stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, research analysts clearly believe GeoPark is more favorable than Chesapeake Energy.

Dividends

GeoPark pays an annual dividend of $0.54 per share and has a dividend yield of 5.8%. Chesapeake Energy pays an annual dividend of $2.30 per share and has a dividend yield of 2.7%. GeoPark pays out 27.7% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Chesapeake Energy pays out 31.0% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Both companies have healthy payout ratios and should be able to cover their dividend payments with earnings for the next several years. GeoPark has increased its dividend for 3 consecutive years and Chesapeake Energy has increased its dividend for 2 consecutive years. GeoPark is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and longer track record of dividend growth.

Volatility and Risk

GeoPark has a beta of 1.31, meaning that its share price is 31% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Chesapeake Energy has a beta of 0.51, meaning that its share price is 49% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Profitability

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

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
GeoPark	14.69%	79.78%	12.43%
Chesapeake Energy	16.42%	4.87%	3.59%

Summary

GeoPark beats Chesapeake Energy on 9 of the 17 factors compared between the two stocks.

About GeoPark

GeoPark Limited engages in the exploration, development, and production of oil and gas reserves in Chile, Colombia, Brazil, Argentina, and Ecuador. GeoPark Limited has a strategic partnership with ONGC Videsh to jointly acquire, invest in, and create value from upstream oil and gas projects across Latin America. The company was formerly known as GeoPark Holdings Limited and changed its name to GeoPark Limited in July 2013. GeoPark Limited was founded in 2002 and is based in Bogotá, Colombia.

About Chesapeake Energy

Chesapeake Energy Corporation operates as an independent exploration and production company in the United States. It engages in acquisition, exploration, and development of properties to produce oil, natural gas, and natural gas liquids from underground reservoirs. The company holds interests in natural gas resource plays in the Marcellus Shale in the northern Appalachian Basin in Pennsylvania and the Haynesville/Bossier Shales in northwestern Louisiana. As of December 31, 2023, the company owns a portfolio of onshore U.S. unconventional natural gas assets, including interests in approximately 5,000 natural gas wells. Chesapeake Energy Corporation was founded in 1989 and is based in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma.