Schlumberger (NYSE:SLB) and ION Geophysical (NYSE:IO) are both oils/energy companies, but which is the better business? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their earnings, risk, analyst recommendations, dividends, institutional ownership, valuation and profitability.
Institutional and Insider Ownership
73.2% of Schlumberger shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 21.9% of ION Geophysical shares are held by institutional investors. 0.6% of Schlumberger shares are held by company insiders. Comparatively, 14.2% of ION Geophysical shares are held by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, hedge funds and large money managers believe a company is poised for long-term growth.
Profitability
This table compares Schlumberger and ION Geophysical's net margins, return on equity and return on assets.
| Net Margins | Return on Equity | Return on Assets |
---|
Schlumberger | -40.15% | 7.34% | 2.46% |
ION Geophysical | -27.94% | N/A | -12.50% |
Volatility and Risk
Schlumberger has a beta of 2.28, meaning that its stock price is 128% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, ION Geophysical has a beta of 4.12, meaning that its stock price is 312% more volatile than the S&P 500.
Analyst Ratings
This is a summary of recent ratings and recommmendations for Schlumberger and ION Geophysical, as reported by MarketBeat.
| Sell Ratings | Hold Ratings | Buy Ratings | Strong Buy Ratings | Rating Score |
---|
Schlumberger | 3 | 6 | 17 | 0 | 2.54 |
ION Geophysical | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2.00 |
Schlumberger presently has a consensus price target of $22.9375, indicating a potential downside of 18.49%. ION Geophysical has a consensus price target of $10.00, indicating a potential upside of 233.33%. Given ION Geophysical's higher possible upside, analysts clearly believe ION Geophysical is more favorable than Schlumberger.
Valuation and Earnings
This table compares Schlumberger and ION Geophysical's gross revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.
| Gross Revenue | Price/Sales Ratio | Net Income | Earnings Per Share | Price/Earnings Ratio |
---|
Schlumberger | $32.92 billion | 1.19 | $-10,137,000,000.00 | $1.47 | 19.14 |
ION Geophysical | $174.68 million | 0.26 | $-48,200,000.00 | ($2.40) | -1.25 |
ION Geophysical has lower revenue, but higher earnings than Schlumberger. ION Geophysical is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Schlumberger, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.
Summary
Schlumberger beats ION Geophysical on 8 of the 14 factors compared between the two stocks.