Comparing MIND Technology (NASDAQ:MIND) and Helmerich & Payne (NYSE:HP)

Helmerich & Payne (NYSE:HP) and MIND Technology (NASDAQ:MIND) are both energy companies, but which is the superior investment? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their earnings, institutional ownership, risk, analyst recommendations, profitability, valuation and dividends.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a summary of recent recommendations and price targets for Helmerich & Payne and MIND Technology, as provided by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Helmerich & Payne	2	4	5	0	2.27
MIND Technology	1	0	0	0	1.00

Helmerich & Payne currently has a consensus price target of $42.20, suggesting a potential downside of 4.80%. Given Helmerich & Payne’s stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, equities research analysts plainly believe Helmerich & Payne is more favorable than MIND Technology.

Dividends

Helmerich & Payne pays an annual dividend of $1.00 per share and has a dividend yield of 2.3%. MIND Technology pays an annual dividend of $2.25 per share and has a dividend yield of 49.2%. Helmerich & Payne pays out -70.9% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. MIND Technology pays out 1,323.5% of its earnings in the form of a dividend, suggesting it may not have sufficient earnings to cover its dividend payment in the future.

Profitability

This table compares Helmerich & Payne and MIND Technology’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Helmerich & Payne	-3.43%	-2.35%	-0.99%
MIND Technology	3.06%	3.45%	2.86%

Volatility & Risk

Helmerich & Payne has a beta of 0.66, suggesting that its stock price is 34% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, MIND Technology has a beta of 0.36, suggesting that its stock price is 64% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Institutional & Insider Ownership

96.1% of Helmerich & Payne shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 9.8% of MIND Technology shares are owned by institutional investors. 4.4% of Helmerich & Payne shares are owned by insiders. Comparatively, 3.3% of MIND Technology shares are owned 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.

Earnings & Valuation

This table compares Helmerich & Payne and MIND Technology”s revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Helmerich & Payne	$3.75 billion	1.18	-$163.70 million	($1.41)	-31.44
MIND Technology	$42.72 million	0.97	$750,000.00	$0.17	26.88

MIND Technology has lower revenue, but higher earnings than Helmerich & Payne. Helmerich & Payne is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than MIND Technology, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Summary

Helmerich & Payne beats MIND Technology on 9 of the 16 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Helmerich & Payne

Founded in 1920, Helmerich & Payne, Inc. (H&P) (NYSE: HP) is committed to delivering industry leading levels of drilling productivity and reliability. H&P operates with the highest level of integrity, safety and innovation to deliver superior results for its customers and returns for shareholders. Through its subsidiaries, the Company designs, fabricates and operates high-performance drilling rigs in conventional and unconventional plays around the world. H&P also develops and implements advanced automation, directional drilling and survey management technologies. H&P’s fleet includes 299 land rigs in the U.S., 31 international land rigs and eight offshore platform rigs.

About MIND Technology

MIND Technology, Inc., together with its subsidiaries, provides technology to the oceanographic, hydrographic, defense, seismic, and maritime security industries worldwide. Its primary products include the GunLink seismic source acquisition and control systems that provide operators of marine seismic surveys with precise monitoring and control of energy sources; the BuoyLink RGPS tracking system, which is used to offer precise positioning of marine seismic energy sources and streamers; Sleeve Gun energy sources; SeaLink towed seismic streamer system; and Sea Serpent line of passive sonar arrays for maritime security and anti-submarine warfare applications. The company also provides streamer weight collars, depth and pressure transducers, air control valves, and source array systems; spare and replacement parts; and repair and engineering services, training and field service operations, and umbilical terminations. The company was formerly known as Mitcham Industries, Inc. MIND Technology, Inc. was incorporated in 1987 and is headquartered in The Woodlands, Texas.