Cactus (WHD) Competitors

Cactus (NYSE:WHD) and Patterson-UTI Energy (NASDAQ:PTEN) are both mid-cap energy companies, but which is the better investment? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their analyst recommendations, valuation, earnings, media sentiment, profitability, dividends, risk and institutional ownership.

Is WHD or PTEN a better dividend stock?

Cactus pays an annual dividend of $0.56 per share and has a dividend yield of 1.5%. Patterson-UTI Energy pays an annual dividend of $0.32 per share and has a dividend yield of 5.8%. Cactus pays out 21.1% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Patterson-UTI Energy pays out -11.6% 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. Cactus has increased its dividend for 4 consecutive years. Patterson-UTI Energy is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and lower payout ratio.

Do analysts rate WHD or PTEN?

Cactus currently has a consensus target price of $50.75, suggesting a potential upside of 34.97%. Patterson-UTI Energy has a consensus target price of $7.90, suggesting a potential upside of 42.09%. Given Patterson-UTI Energy's stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, analysts clearly believe Patterson-UTI Energy is more favorable than Cactus.

Company	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Cactus	2 Sell rating(s)	2 Hold rating(s)	2 Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.00
Patterson-UTI Energy	1 Sell rating(s)	7 Hold rating(s)	4 Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.25

Which has more volatility & risk, WHD or PTEN?

Cactus has a beta of 1.48, meaning that its share price is 48% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Patterson-UTI Energy has a beta of 1.23, meaning that its share price is 23% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Do institutionals and insiders hold more shares of WHD or PTEN?

85.1% of Cactus shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 97.9% of Patterson-UTI Energy shares are held by institutional investors. 13.8% of Cactus shares are held by company insiders. Comparatively, 2.4% of Patterson-UTI Energy shares are held by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, large money managers and endowments believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Does the media prefer WHD or PTEN?

In the previous week, Cactus had 4 more articles in the media than Patterson-UTI Energy. MarketBeat recorded 6 mentions for Cactus and 2 mentions for Patterson-UTI Energy. Cactus' average media sentiment score of 1.48 beat Patterson-UTI Energy's score of 1.01 indicating that Cactus is being referred to more favorably in the media.

Company	Very Positive	Positive	Neutral	Negative	Very Negative	Overall Sentiment
Cactus	5 Very Positive mention(s)	0 Positive mention(s)	1 Neutral mention(s)	0 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Positive
Patterson-UTI Energy	1 Very Positive mention(s)	0 Positive mention(s)	1 Neutral mention(s)	0 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Positive

Is WHD or PTEN more profitable?

Cactus has a net margin of 16.19% compared to Patterson-UTI Energy's net margin of -21.49%. Cactus' return on equity of 17.34% beat Patterson-UTI Energy's return on equity.

Company	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Cactus	16.19%	17.34%	12.69%
Patterson-UTI Energy	-21.49%	-1.94%	-1.16%

Which has better valuation & earnings, WHD or PTEN?

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

Company	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Cactus	$1.13B	2.66	$185.41M	$2.65	14.19
Patterson-UTI Energy	$5.38B	0.40	-$968.03M	-$2.76	-2.01

Summary

Cactus beats Patterson-UTI Energy on 12 of the 19 factors compared between the two stocks.