Expro Group (NYSE:XPRO) versus Seadrill (NYSE:SDRL) Critical Analysis

Seadrill (NYSE:SDRL) and Expro Group (NYSE:XPRO) are both energy companies, but which is the better investment? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their valuation, analyst recommendations, institutional ownership, risk, dividends, earnings and profitability.

Volatility & Risk

Seadrill has a beta of 1.25, indicating that its stock price is 25% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Expro Group has a beta of 0.96, indicating that its stock price is 4% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Profitability

This table compares Seadrill and Expro Group’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Seadrill	0.07%	0.64%	0.46%
Expro Group	1.33%	3.27%	2.19%

Analyst Recommendations

This is a breakdown of current recommendations and price targets for Seadrill and Expro Group, as reported by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Seadrill	0	2	3	4	3.22
Expro Group	2	2	2	1	2.29

Seadrill presently has a consensus target price of $59.40, indicating a potential upside of 28.67%. Expro Group has a consensus target price of $18.00, indicating a potential upside of 11.08%. Given Seadrill’s stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, analysts plainly believe Seadrill is more favorable than Expro Group.

Earnings & Valuation

This table compares Seadrill and Expro Group”s gross revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Seadrill	$1.44 billion	2.01	-$77.00 million	$0.03	1,538.80
Expro Group	$1.61 billion	1.13	$51.69 million	$0.18	90.02

Expro Group has higher revenue and earnings than Seadrill. Expro Group is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Seadrill, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Insider and Institutional Ownership

95.7% of Seadrill shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 92.1% of Expro Group shares are owned by institutional investors. 0.5% of Seadrill shares are owned by insiders. Comparatively, 1.8% of Expro Group shares are owned by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, large money managers and endowments believe a stock will outperform the market over the long term.

Summary

Seadrill beats Expro Group on 8 of the 15 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Seadrill

Seadrill Ltd. engages in the provision of offshore drilling services to the oil and gas industry. It operates through the following segments: Floaters, Jack-up rigs, and Other. The Floaters segment encompasses drilling, completion, and maintenance of offshore exploration and production wells. the Jack-up Rigs segment includes drilling contracts relate to jack-up rigs for operations in harsh and benign environments in shallow water. The Other segment represents management services to third parties and related parties. The company was founded on May 10, 2005 and is headquartered in Hamilton, Bermuda.

About Expro Group

Expro Group Holdings N.V. engages in the provision of energy services in North and Latin America, Europe and Sub-Saharan Africa, the Middle East and North Africa, and the Asia-Pacific. The company provides well construction services, such as technology solutions in drilling, tubular running services, and cementing and tubulars; and well management services, including well flow management, subsea well access, and well intervention and integrity solutions. It serves exploration and production companies in onshore and offshore environments in approximately 60 countries. Expro Group Holdings N.V. was founded in 1938 and is based in Houston, Texas.