Critical Contrast: Patterson-UTI Energy (NASDAQ:PTEN) & National Energy Services Reunited (NASDAQ:NESR)

National Energy Services Reunited (NASDAQ:NESR) and Patterson-UTI Energy (NASDAQ:PTEN) are both mid-cap energy companies, but which is the superior investment? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their risk, analyst recommendations, profitability, valuation, dividends, institutional ownership and earnings.

Profitability

This table compares National Energy Services Reunited and Patterson-UTI Energy’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
National Energy Services Reunited	5.77%	12.07%	6.22%
Patterson-UTI Energy	-1.92%	-1.68%	-0.98%

Volatility & Risk

National Energy Services Reunited has a beta of 0.48, suggesting that its share price is 52% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Patterson-UTI Energy has a beta of 0.77, suggesting that its share price is 23% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Institutional & Insider Ownership

15.6% of National Energy Services Reunited shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 97.9% of Patterson-UTI Energy shares are owned by institutional investors. 9.7% of National Energy Services Reunited shares are owned by insiders. Comparatively, 2.2% of Patterson-UTI Energy shares are owned 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.

Analyst Ratings

This is a summary of current recommendations for National Energy Services Reunited and Patterson-UTI Energy, as reported by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
National Energy Services Reunited	0	1	9	0	2.90
Patterson-UTI Energy	0	7	9	0	2.56

National Energy Services Reunited currently has a consensus target price of $40.88, suggesting a potential upside of 79.43%. Patterson-UTI Energy has a consensus target price of $13.14, suggesting a potential upside of 16.15%. Given National Energy Services Reunited’s stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, research analysts clearly believe National Energy Services Reunited is more favorable than Patterson-UTI Energy.

Valuation and Earnings

This table compares National Energy Services Reunited and Patterson-UTI Energy”s gross revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
National Energy Services Reunited	$1.62 billion	1.42	$51.13 million	$0.92	24.76
Patterson-UTI Energy	$4.83 billion	0.89	-$93.64 million	($0.23)	-49.17

National Energy Services Reunited has higher earnings, but lower revenue than Patterson-UTI Energy. Patterson-UTI Energy is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than National Energy Services Reunited, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Summary

National Energy Services Reunited beats Patterson-UTI Energy on 10 of the 13 factors compared between the two stocks.

About National Energy Services Reunited

National Energy Services Reunited Corp. provides oilfield services in the Middle East and North Africa region. The company’s Production Services segment offers hydraulic fracturing services; coiled tubing services, including nitrogen lifting, fishing, milling, clean-out, scale removal, and other well applications; stimulation and pumping services; primary and remedial cementing services; nitrogen services; filtration services, as well as frac tanks and pumping units; and pipeline and industrial services, such as water filling and hydro testing, nitrogen purging, and de-gassing and pressure testing, as well as cutting/welding and cooling down piping/vessels systems. This segment also provides production assurance chemicals; integrated project management projects; artificial lift services; and surface and subsurface safety systems, high-pressure packer systems, flow controls, service tools, expandable liner technology, vacuum insulated tubing technology for steam applications, and engineering capabilities with manufacturing capacity and testing facilities, as well as sources and treats water for oil and gas, municipal, and industrial use. Its Drilling and Evaluation Services segment offers drilling and workover rigs; rigs and integrated services; fishing and remediation solutions; directional and turbines drilling; drilling fluid systems and related technologies; wireline logging; slickline services for removal of scale, wax and sand build-up, setting plugs, changing out gas lift valves, and fishing and other well applications; and well testing services to measure solids, gas, and oil and water produced from well, as well as rents drilling tools. This segment also provides oilfield solutions for thru-tubing intervention; tubular running services; and a range of wellhead products, flow control equipment, and frac equipment. National Energy Services Reunited Corp. was incorporated in 2017 and is headquartered in Houston, Texas.

About Patterson-UTI Energy

Patterson-UTI Energy, Inc., through its subsidiaries, engages in the provision of contract drilling services to oil and natural gas operators in the United States and internationally. It operates through three segments: Drilling Services, Completion Services, and Drilling Products. The Contract Drilling Services segment provides contract and directional drilling services in onshore oil and natural gas basins, as well as engages in the service and re-certification of equipment for drilling contractors, and provision of electrical controls and automation to the energy, marine and mining industries. The Completion Services segment offers services for hydraulic fracturing, wireline and pumping, completion support, and cementing; and involved in the power solutions natural gas fueling, and logistics and storage businesses. The Drilling Products segment manufactures and distributes drill bits for energy and mining markets. It also provides software and services, such as MWD Survey FDIR, a data analytics technology to analyze MWD survey data in real-time and identify the position of a well; HiFi Nav, which enhances FDIR by targeting improved vertical placement of the directional well within the reservoir; HiFi Guidance, utilizes trajectory optimization to determine optimal steering recommendations and placement within the reservoir; and rents oilfield tools. The company was founded in 1978 and is headquartered in Houston, Texas.