CrossAmerica Partners (NYSE:CAPL – Get Free Report) and SM Energy (NYSE:SM – Get Free Report) are both energy companies, but which is the better business? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their profitability, analyst recommendations, institutional ownership, risk, earnings, dividends and valuation.
Profitability
This table compares CrossAmerica Partners and SM Energy’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.
| Net Margins | Return on Equity | Return on Assets | |
| CrossAmerica Partners | 1.43% | -37.73% | 3.92% |
| SM Energy | 18.20% | 17.93% | 7.70% |
Valuation & Earnings
This table compares CrossAmerica Partners and SM Energy”s top-line revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.
| Gross Revenue | Price/Sales Ratio | Net Income | Earnings Per Share | Price/Earnings Ratio | |
| CrossAmerica Partners | $3.66 billion | 0.22 | $39.11 million | $1.37 | 15.55 |
| SM Energy | $5.15 billion | 1.53 | $648.00 million | $5.08 | 6.52 |
SM Energy has higher revenue and earnings than CrossAmerica Partners. SM Energy is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than CrossAmerica Partners, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.
Analyst Ratings
This is a breakdown of recent ratings and recommmendations for CrossAmerica Partners and SM Energy, as provided by MarketBeat.com.
| Sell Ratings | Hold Ratings | Buy Ratings | Strong Buy Ratings | Rating Score | |
| CrossAmerica Partners | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 3.00 |
| SM Energy | 0 | 6 | 10 | 1 | 2.71 |
SM Energy has a consensus price target of $39.38, suggesting a potential upside of 18.90%. Given SM Energy’s higher possible upside, analysts plainly believe SM Energy is more favorable than CrossAmerica Partners.
Volatility & Risk
CrossAmerica Partners has a beta of 0.3, indicating that its share price is 70% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, SM Energy has a beta of 0.75, indicating that its share price is 25% less volatile than the S&P 500.
Dividends
CrossAmerica Partners pays an annual dividend of $2.10 per share and has a dividend yield of 9.9%. SM Energy pays an annual dividend of $0.88 per share and has a dividend yield of 2.7%. CrossAmerica Partners pays out 153.3% of its earnings in the form of a dividend, suggesting it may not have sufficient earnings to cover its dividend payment in the future. SM Energy pays out 17.3% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. SM Energy has raised its dividend for 4 consecutive years.
Institutional and Insider Ownership
24.1% of CrossAmerica Partners shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 94.6% of SM Energy shares are held by institutional investors. 52.0% of CrossAmerica Partners shares are held by insiders. Comparatively, 0.4% of SM Energy shares are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, hedge funds and large money managers believe a stock will outperform the market over the long term.
Summary
SM Energy beats CrossAmerica Partners on 13 of the 17 factors compared between the two stocks.
About CrossAmerica Partners
CrossAmerica Partners LP engages in the wholesale distribution of motor fuels, operation of convenience stores, and ownership and leasing of real estate used in the retail distribution of motor fuels in the United States. It operates in two segments, Wholesale and Retail. The Wholesale segment engages in the wholesale distribution of motor fuels to lessee dealers, independent dealers, commission agents, and company operated retail sites. The Retail segment is involved in the sale of convenience merchandise items; and retail sale of motor fuels at company operated retail sites and retail sites operated by commission agents. CrossAmerica GP LLC operates as the general partner of the company. The company was formerly known as Lehigh Gas Partners LP and changed its name to CrossAmerica Partners LP in October 2014. The company was founded in 1992 and is based in Allentown, Pennsylvania.
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.
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