Contrasting Forum Energy Technologies (NYSE:FET) & NPK International (NYSE:NPKI)

Forum Energy Technologies (NYSE:FET) and NPK International (NYSE:NPKI) are both small-cap oils/energy companies, but which is the better investment? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their risk, analyst recommendations, profitability, dividends, institutional ownership, earnings and valuation.

Earnings and Valuation

This table compares Forum Energy Technologies and NPK International”s revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Forum Energy Technologies	$816.43 million	0.32	-$18.88 million	($10.98)	-1.92
NPK International	$217.49 million	2.32	$14.52 million	($1.72)	-3.38

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

Profitability

This table compares Forum Energy Technologies and NPK International’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Forum Energy Technologies	-16.57%	-2.39%	-1.07%
NPK International	-28.47%	5.93%	4.08%

Volatility & Risk

Forum Energy Technologies has a beta of 2.33, indicating that its stock price is 133% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, NPK International has a beta of 2.86, indicating that its stock price is 186% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Analyst Ratings

This is a summary of recent recommendations and price targets for Forum Energy Technologies and NPK International, as provided by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Forum Energy Technologies	0	0	0	0	0.00
NPK International	0	0	1	0	3.00

NPK International has a consensus price target of $12.00, indicating a potential upside of 106.19%. Given NPK International’s stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, analysts clearly believe NPK International is more favorable than Forum Energy Technologies.

Institutional and Insider Ownership

65.6% of Forum Energy Technologies shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 80.8% of NPK International shares are held by institutional investors. 6.2% of Forum Energy Technologies shares are held by insiders. Comparatively, 4.8% of NPK International shares are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, hedge funds and large money managers believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.

Summary

NPK International beats Forum Energy Technologies on 10 of the 14 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Forum Energy Technologies

Forum Energy Technologies, Inc. designs, manufactures, and distributes products serving the oil, natural gas, industrial, and renewable energy industries in the United States and internationally. It operates through three segments: Drilling & Downhole, Completions, and Production. The Drilling & Downhole segment designs, manufactures, and supplies products, and provides related services to the drilling, well construction, artificial lift, and subsea energy construction and services markets, including applications in oil and natural gas, renewable energy, defense, and communications. This segment offers drilling technologies consisting of capital equipment and a line of products consumed in the drilling process; well construction casing and cementing equipment, and products for artificial lift equipment and cables; and subsea remotely operated vehicles and trenchers, submarine rescue vehicles, specialty components and tools, and technical services. The Completions segment offers hydraulic fracturing pumps, cooling systems, high-pressure flexible hoses, and flow iron for pressure pumping markets; wireline cable and pressure control equipment for well completion and intervention service markets; and coiled tubing strings and coiled line pipe and related services. The Production segment designs, manufactures, and supplies products, and provides related equipment and services for production and infrastructure markets. This segment offers engineered process systems, production equipment, specialty separation equipment, and various industrial valves for oil and natural gas customers, power generation, renewable energy, and other general industrial applications. The company was formerly known as Forum Oilfield Technologies, Inc. and changed its name to Forum Energy Technologies, Inc. in August 2010. Forum Energy Technologies, Inc. was incorporated in 2005 and is headquartered in Houston, Texas.

About NPK International

NPK International Inc. provides products, rentals, and services primarily to the oil and natural gas exploration and production (E&P) industry. It operates through two segments, Fluids Systems and Industrial Solutions. The Fluids Systems segment provides drilling, completion, and stimulation fluids products and related technical services to customers primarily in the North America, Europe, the Middle East, and Africa, as well as other countries in the Asia Pacific and Latin America. The Industrial Solutions segment offers composite matting system rentals utilized for temporary worksite access; related site construction and services to customers in various markets, including power transmission, E&P, pipeline, renewable energy, petrochemical, construction, and other industries primarily in the United States and Europe; recyclable composite mats to customers worldwide; and access road construction, site planning and preparation, environmental protection, erosion control, and site restoration services. The company was formerly known as Newpark Resources, Inc. and changed its name to NPK International Inc. in December 2024. The company was incorporated in 1932 and is headquartered in The Woodlands, Texas.