Head-To-Head Survey: Select Water Solutions (NYSE:WTTR) & Transocean (NYSE:RIG)

Select Water Solutions (NYSE:WTTR) and Transocean (NYSE:RIG) are both mid-cap energy companies, but which is the superior investment? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their profitability, risk, dividends, valuation, analyst recommendations, earnings and institutional ownership.

Insider and Institutional Ownership

81.7% of Select Water Solutions shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 67.7% of Transocean shares are owned by institutional investors. 6.2% of Select Water Solutions shares are owned by insiders. Comparatively, 9.7% of Transocean shares are owned 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 recent ratings and price targets for Select Water Solutions and Transocean, as provided by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Select Water Solutions	0	3	7	0	2.70
Transocean	3	4	3	2	2.33

Select Water Solutions currently has a consensus target price of $24.57, indicating a potential upside of 30.65%. Transocean has a consensus target price of $6.68, indicating a potential upside of 19.80%. Given Select Water Solutions’ stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, equities research analysts plainly believe Select Water Solutions is more favorable than Transocean.

Profitability

This table compares Select Water Solutions and Transocean’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Select Water Solutions	2.24%	3.11%	1.92%
Transocean	-40.24%	2.60%	1.37%

Earnings & Valuation

This table compares Select Water Solutions and Transocean”s top-line revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Select Water Solutions	$1.43 billion	1.82	$21.22 million	$0.28	67.17
Transocean	$3.96 billion	1.57	-$2.92 billion	($1.88)	-2.97

Select Water Solutions has higher earnings, but lower revenue than Transocean. Transocean is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Select Water Solutions, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Risk & Volatility

Select Water Solutions has a beta of 1.01, indicating that its share price is 1% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Transocean has a beta of 1.41, indicating that its share price is 41% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Summary

Select Water Solutions beats Transocean on 11 of the 15 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Select Water Solutions

Select Water Solutions, Inc., together with its subsidiaries, provides water management and chemical solutions to the energy industry in the United States. The company operates through three segments: Water Services, Water Infrastructure, and Chemical Technologies. The Water Services segment provides water-related services, including water sourcing, water transfer, flowback and well testing, water containment, fluids hauling, water monitoring, and water network automation; technology solutions comprising hydrographic mapping, water volume and quality monitoring, remote pit and tank monitoring, leak detection, asset and fuel tracking, and automated-equipment services, as well as various surface rental equipment and workforce accommodation services. The Water Infrastructure segment engages in the recycling, gathering, transferring, and disposal of water through a network of permanent pipeline infrastructure, semi-permanent pipeline infrastructure, water recycling facilities, earthen pits, water sources, and SWDs; provides solids management services; and develops, builds, and operates semi-permanent and permanent infrastructure solutions. The Chemical Technologies segment provides technical solutions, products, and services related to chemical applications in the oil and gas industry. This segment develops, manufactures, and manages logistics; and provides chemicals used in hydraulic fracturing, stimulation, cementing, and well completions for pressure pumpers and oil and gas producers, as well as offers production chemical solutions for underperforming wells, corrosion and scale monitoring, chemical inventory management, well failure analysis, and lab services. It primarily serves oil and gas producers. The company was formerly known as Select Energy Services, Inc. and changed its name to Select Water Solutions, Inc. in May 2023. Select Water Solutions, Inc. was incorporated in 2016 and is headquartered in Houston, Texas.

About Transocean

Transocean Ltd., together with its subsidiaries, provides offshore contract drilling services for oil and gas wells worldwide. It contracts mobile offshore drilling rigs, related equipment, and work crews to drill oil and gas wells. The company operates a fleet of mobile offshore drilling units, consisting of ultra-deepwater floaters and harsh environment floaters. It serves integrated energy companies, government-owned or government-controlled energy companies, and other independent energy companies. The company was founded in 1926 and is based in Steinhausen, Switzerland.