ProPetro (NYSE:PUMP) versus Valaris (NYSE:VAL) Critical Comparison

Valaris (NYSE:VAL) and ProPetro (NYSE:PUMP) are both energy companies, but which is the better investment? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their earnings, institutional ownership, profitability, analyst recommendations, risk, valuation and dividends.

Institutional and Insider Ownership

96.7% of Valaris shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 84.7% of ProPetro shares are held by institutional investors. 0.8% of Valaris shares are held by insiders. Comparatively, 1.5% of ProPetro shares are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, large money managers and endowments believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.

Profitability

This table compares Valaris and ProPetro’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Valaris	37.35%	4.26%	2.52%
ProPetro	0.16%	0.21%	0.12%

Valuation & Earnings

This table compares Valaris and ProPetro”s gross revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Valaris	$2.37 billion	2.42	$982.80 million	$13.39	6.16
ProPetro	$1.27 billion	0.63	$820,000.00	N/A	N/A

Valaris has higher revenue and earnings than ProPetro.

Analyst Ratings

This is a summary of current ratings and recommmendations for Valaris and ProPetro, as reported by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Valaris	1	6	0	0	1.86
ProPetro	1	3	8	1	2.69

Valaris presently has a consensus target price of $69.75, suggesting a potential downside of 15.48%. ProPetro has a consensus target price of $15.25, suggesting a potential upside of 135.89%. Given ProPetro’s stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, analysts plainly believe ProPetro is more favorable than Valaris.

Risk and Volatility

Valaris has a beta of 1.03, suggesting that its stock price is 3% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, ProPetro has a beta of 0.86, suggesting that its stock price is 14% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Summary

Valaris beats ProPetro on 8 of the 13 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Valaris

Valaris Limited, together with its subsidiaries, provides offshore contract drilling services Gulf of Mexico, South America, North Sea, the Middle East, Africa, and the Asia Pacific. The company operates through four segments: Floaters, Jackups, ARO, and Other. It owns an offshore drilling rig fleet, which include drillships, dynamically positioned semisubmersible rigs, moored semisubmersible rig, and jackup rigs. It serves international, government-owned, and independent oil and gas. Valaris Limited was founded in 1975 and is based in Hamilton, Bermuda.

About ProPetro

ProPetro Holding Corp. operates as an integrated oilfield services company. The company provides hydraulic fracturing, wireline, cementing, and other complementary oilfield completion services to upstream oil and gas companies in the Permian Basin. ProPetro Holding Corp. was founded in 2007 and is headquartered in Midland, Texas.