Helix Energy Solutions Group (NYSE:HLX) and Schlumberger (NYSE:SLB) are both oils/energy companies, but which is the superior business? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their dividends, valuation, earnings, profitability, analyst recommendations, risk and institutional ownership.
Insider & Institutional Ownership
85.8% of Helix Energy Solutions Group shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 73.2% of Schlumberger shares are owned by institutional investors. 5.8% of Helix Energy Solutions Group shares are owned by insiders. Comparatively, 0.6% of Schlumberger shares are owned by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, hedge funds and endowments believe a company will outperform the market over the long term.
Profitability
This table compares Helix Energy Solutions Group and Schlumberger's net margins, return on equity and return on assets.
| Net Margins | Return on Equity | Return on Assets |
|---|
| Helix Energy Solutions Group | 3.50% | 0.53% | 0.35% |
| Schlumberger | -40.15% | 7.34% | 2.46% |
Analyst Recommendations
This is a summary of recent ratings and price targets for Helix Energy Solutions Group and Schlumberger, as reported by MarketBeat.
| Sell Ratings | Hold Ratings | Buy Ratings | Strong Buy Ratings | Rating Score |
|---|
| Helix Energy Solutions Group | 0 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 2.75 |
| Schlumberger | 3 | 6 | 17 | 0 | 2.54 |
Helix Energy Solutions Group currently has a consensus price target of $5.00, indicating a potential upside of 0.60%. Schlumberger has a consensus price target of $22.9375, indicating a potential downside of 18.57%. Given Helix Energy Solutions Group's stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, equities research analysts clearly believe Helix Energy Solutions Group is more favorable than Schlumberger.
Volatility & Risk
Helix Energy Solutions Group has a beta of 3.66, meaning that its share price is 266% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Schlumberger has a beta of 2.28, meaning that its share price is 128% more volatile than the S&P 500.
Earnings and Valuation
This table compares Helix Energy Solutions Group and Schlumberger's gross revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.
| Gross Revenue | Price/Sales Ratio | Net Income | Earnings Per Share | Price/Earnings Ratio |
|---|
| Helix Energy Solutions Group | $751.91 million | 0.98 | $57.78 million | $0.38 | 12.95 |
| Schlumberger | $32.92 billion | 1.19 | $-10,137,000,000.00 | $1.47 | 19.07 |
Helix Energy Solutions Group has higher earnings, but lower revenue than Schlumberger. Helix Energy Solutions Group is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Schlumberger, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.
Summary
Helix Energy Solutions Group beats Schlumberger on 8 of the 14 factors compared between the two stocks.
