Financial Survey: Noble (NYSE:NE) versus Saipem (OTCMKTS:SAPMF)

Saipem (OTCMKTS:SAPMF) and Noble (NYSE:NE) are both mid-cap energy companies, but which is the better investment? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their profitability, analyst recommendations, earnings, institutional ownership, dividends, valuation and risk.

Profitability

This table compares Saipem and Noble’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Saipem	N/A	N/A	N/A
Noble	6.60%	2.34%	1.40%

Earnings and Valuation

This table compares Saipem and Noble”s revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Saipem	$15.75 billion	0.54	$331.12 million	N/A	N/A
Noble	$3.29 billion	2.37	$216.72 million	$1.35	36.21

Saipem has higher revenue and earnings than Noble.

Volatility & Risk

Saipem has a beta of 0.96, indicating that its stock price is 4% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Noble has a beta of 1.07, indicating that its stock price is 7% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Institutional and Insider Ownership

68.1% of Noble shares are held by institutional investors. 1.5% of Noble shares are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, endowments and hedge funds believe a company will outperform the market over the long term.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a summary of recent recommendations for Saipem and Noble, as provided by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Saipem	0	1	0	2	3.33
Noble	1	10	1	0	2.00

Noble has a consensus target price of $38.63, suggesting a potential downside of 20.98%. Given Noble’s higher probable upside, analysts clearly believe Noble is more favorable than Saipem.

Summary

Noble beats Saipem on 9 of the 13 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Saipem

Saipem SpA provides energy and infrastructure solutions worldwide. The company operates through Asset Based Services, Offshore Drilling, and Energy Carriers segments. It offers development of subsea fields and pipelaying; installation and lifting of offshore structures; and engineering, implementation, installation, maintenance, modification, and decommissioning activities. The company also engages in onshore engineering and construction, sustainable infrastructures, and robotics and industrialized solutions; and offshore engineering and construction, and wind activities. In addition, the company provides procurement, construction, project management, and engineering integrated services to the oil and gas, civil and marine infrastructure, and environmental markets. Saipem S.p.A. was founded in 1957 and is headquartered in Milan, Italy.

About Noble

Noble Corp. Plc engages in the provision offshore drilling services for oil and gas industry. It focuses on a balanced fleet of floating and jackup rigs and the deployment of drilling rigs in oil and gas basins around the world. The company was founded by Lloyd Noble and Art Olson in 1921 and is headquartered in London, the United Kingdom.