Critical Survey: GeoPark (NYSE:GPRK) and Hong Kong and China Gas (OTCMKTS:HOKCY)

GeoPark (NYSE:GPRK) and Hong Kong and China Gas (OTCMKTS:HOKCY) are both oils/energy companies, but which is the superior business? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their institutional ownership, profitability, dividends, valuation, analyst recommendations, risk and earnings.

Profitability

This table compares GeoPark and Hong Kong and China Gas’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
GeoPark	14.69%	79.78%	12.43%
Hong Kong and China Gas	N/A	N/A	N/A

Insider & Institutional Ownership

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

Risk and Volatility

GeoPark has a beta of 1.3, suggesting that its share price is 30% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Hong Kong and China Gas has a beta of 0.39, suggesting that its share price is 61% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a summary of recent recommendations and price targets for GeoPark and Hong Kong and China Gas, as reported by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
GeoPark	0	0	3	0	3.00
Hong Kong and China Gas	0	0	0	0	N/A

GeoPark presently has a consensus price target of $13.17, suggesting a potential upside of 35.95%. Given GeoPark’s higher probable upside, equities analysts clearly believe GeoPark is more favorable than Hong Kong and China Gas.

Dividends

GeoPark pays an annual dividend of $0.54 per share and has a dividend yield of 5.6%. Hong Kong and China Gas pays an annual dividend of $0.02 per share and has a dividend yield of 2.7%. GeoPark pays out 27.7% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. GeoPark has increased its dividend for 3 consecutive years. GeoPark is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and longer track record of dividend growth.

Earnings and Valuation

This table compares GeoPark and Hong Kong and China Gas’ top-line revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
GeoPark	$756.60 million	0.71	$111.07 million	$1.95	4.97
Hong Kong and China Gas	$7.28 billion	N/A	$788.99 million	N/A	N/A

Hong Kong and China Gas has higher revenue and earnings than GeoPark.

Summary

GeoPark beats Hong Kong and China Gas on 10 of the 13 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 Hong Kong and China Gas

The Hong Kong and China Gas Company Limited, together with its subsidiaries, produces, distributes, and markets gas, water supply and energy services in Hong Kong and Mainland China. It is involved in the provision of smart energy, piped city-gas, upstream and midstream projects, water supply and wastewater treatment, urban waste resource utilization, and natural gas filling stations, as well as new energy exploration and utilization activities. The company develops new energy projects that are low in emissions and pollution, which includes clean coal chemical business, liquefaction of methane, etc., as well as supplies town gas. It also provides network connectivity, data center, and ICT services, as well as engineering, procurement, and construction services. In addition, the company offers consultancy and engineering contractor services, including utilities installation, infrastructure construction, and civil and building services engineering for public and private projects; and designs and manufactures gas meters and metering systems. Further, it is involved in water supply, and domestic sewage and industrial wastewater treatment activities. Additionally, the company manufactures polyethylene piping and fittings; as well as engages in the software development, solution implementation, and systems integration activities. The Hong Kong and China Gas Company Limited was founded in 1862 and is headquartered in North Point, Hong Kong.