Core Laboratories (NYSE:CLB) and North American Construction Group (NYSE:NOA) are both small-cap oils/energy companies, but which is the superior investment? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their profitability, valuation, analyst recommendations, dividends, institutional ownership, risk and earnings.
Institutional and Insider Ownership
92.7% of Core Laboratories shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 46.1% of North American Construction Group shares are held by institutional investors. 1.1% of Core Laboratories shares are held by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, endowments and hedge funds believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.
Risk and Volatility
Core Laboratories has a beta of 3.38, meaning that its stock price is 238% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, North American Construction Group has a beta of 1.38, meaning that its stock price is 38% more volatile than the S&P 500.
Profitability
This table compares Core Laboratories and North American Construction Group's net margins, return on equity and return on assets.
| Net Margins | Return on Equity | Return on Assets |
|---|
| Core Laboratories | -19.02% | 45.39% | 6.74% |
| North American Construction Group | 8.50% | 23.22% | 5.93% |
Earnings and Valuation
This table compares Core Laboratories and North American Construction Group's revenue, earnings per share and valuation.
| Gross Revenue | Price/Sales Ratio | Net Income | Earnings Per Share | Price/Earnings Ratio |
|---|
| Core Laboratories | $668.21 million | 1.87 | $101.98 million | $1.79 | 15.06 |
| North American Construction Group | $541.89 million | 0.62 | $27.79 million | $1.13 | 9.65 |
Core Laboratories has higher revenue and earnings than North American Construction Group. North American Construction Group is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Core Laboratories, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.
Analyst Ratings
This is a breakdown of recent ratings and price targets for Core Laboratories and North American Construction Group, as provided by MarketBeat.com.
| Sell Ratings | Hold Ratings | Buy Ratings | Strong Buy Ratings | Rating Score |
|---|
| Core Laboratories | 1 | 7 | 2 | 0 | 2.10 |
| North American Construction Group | 0 | 1 | 7 | 0 | 2.88 |
Core Laboratories currently has a consensus target price of $24.1250, indicating a potential downside of 10.52%. North American Construction Group has a consensus target price of $16.2857, indicating a potential upside of 49.41%. Given North American Construction Group's stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, analysts plainly believe North American Construction Group is more favorable than Core Laboratories.
Dividends
Core Laboratories pays an annual dividend of $0.04 per share and has a dividend yield of 0.1%. North American Construction Group pays an annual dividend of $0.12 per share and has a dividend yield of 1.1%. Core Laboratories pays out 2.2% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. North American Construction Group pays out 10.6% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Both companies have healthy payout ratios and should be able to cover their dividend payments with earnings for the next several years. Core Laboratories has raised its dividend for 1 consecutive years and North American Construction Group has raised its dividend for 1 consecutive years.
Summary
Core Laboratories beats North American Construction Group on 10 of the 16 factors compared between the two stocks.
