Southwestern Energy (NYSE:SWN) and HKN (OTCMKTS:HKNI) Head-To-Head Contrast

HKN (OTCMKTS:HKNI) and Southwestern Energy (NYSE:SWN) are both oils/energy companies, but which is the better investment? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their profitability, risk, earnings, valuation, analyst recommendations, dividends and institutional ownership.

Profitability

This table compares HKN and Southwestern Energy’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
HKN	N/A	N/A	N/A
Southwestern Energy	-48.91%	10.55%	4.80%

Analyst Recommendations

This is a summary of current recommendations and price targets for HKN and Southwestern Energy, as provided by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
HKN	0	0	0	0	N/A
Southwestern Energy	0	10	2	0	2.17

Southwestern Energy has a consensus target price of $8.50, suggesting a potential upside of 39.56%. Given Southwestern Energy’s higher possible upside, analysts plainly believe Southwestern Energy is more favorable than HKN.

Earnings and Valuation

This table compares HKN and Southwestern Energy’s gross revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
HKN	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A
Southwestern Energy	$5.64 billion	1.20	$1.56 billion	($1.74)	-3.52

Southwestern Energy has higher revenue and earnings than HKN.

Insider and Institutional Ownership

87.0% of Southwestern Energy shares are held by institutional investors. 0.1% of HKN shares are held by company insiders. Comparatively, 0.6% of Southwestern Energy shares are held by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, endowments and large money managers believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.

Summary

Southwestern Energy beats HKN on 7 of the 8 factors compared between the two stocks.

About HKN

HKN, Inc. operates as an independent energy company. The company owns an oilfield emulsion breaking technology that purifies oilfield emulsions by breaking and separating the emulsions into oil, water, and solids. It also holds non-operated oil and gas leases and mineral interests in properties located in the Bakken and Niobrara shale oil plays; and rights to acreage in the Permian Basin of Texas. The company was founded in 1973 and is based in Southlake, Texas.

About Southwestern Energy

Southwestern Energy Company, an independent energy company, engages in the exploration, development, and production of natural gas, oil, and natural gas liquids (NGLs) in the United States. It operates through two segments, Exploration and Production, and Marketing. The company focuses on the development of unconventional natural gas and oil reservoirs located in Pennsylvania, West Virginia, Ohio, and Louisiana. It also engages in the marketing and transportation of natural gas, oil, and NGLs. It serves LNG exporters, energy companies, utilities, and industrial purchasers of natural gas. Southwestern Energy Company was incorporated in 1929 and is headquartered in Spring, Texas.