Weatherford International (NASDAQ:WFRD) vs. Aker Solutions ASA (OTCMKTS:AKRTF) Head-To-Head Review

Aker Solutions ASA (OTCMKTS:AKRTF) and Weatherford International (NASDAQ:WFRD) are both energy companies, but which is the superior business? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their analyst recommendations, earnings, dividends, risk, institutional ownership, profitability and valuation.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a breakdown of current ratings and price targets for Aker Solutions ASA and Weatherford International, as reported by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Aker Solutions ASA	2	2	0	0	1.50
Weatherford International	1	2	8	0	2.64

Weatherford International has a consensus target price of $113.56, indicating a potential upside of 20.38%. Given Weatherford International’s stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, analysts plainly believe Weatherford International is more favorable than Aker Solutions ASA.

Earnings & Valuation

This table compares Aker Solutions ASA and Weatherford International”s gross revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Aker Solutions ASA	N/A	N/A	N/A	$4.45	1.00
Weatherford International	$4.92 billion	1.37	$431.00 million	$5.07	18.61

Weatherford International has higher revenue and earnings than Aker Solutions ASA. Aker Solutions ASA is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Weatherford International, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Institutional and Insider Ownership

16.2% of Aker Solutions ASA shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 97.2% of Weatherford International shares are owned by institutional investors. 2.1% of Weatherford International shares are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, endowments and large money managers believe a stock will outperform the market over the long term.

Profitability

This table compares Aker Solutions ASA and Weatherford International’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Aker Solutions ASA	N/A	N/A	N/A
Weatherford International	7.66%	21.50%	7.09%

Summary

Weatherford International beats Aker Solutions ASA on 11 of the 11 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Aker Solutions ASA

Aker Solutions ASA provides solutions, products, systems, and services to the oil and gas industry in Norway, the United States, Brazil, the United Kingdom, Malaysia, Angola, Brunei, Canada, India, and internationally. The company operates in two segments, Renewables and Field Development; and Life Cycle. It offers field planning, feasibility, and concept studies; specialist engineering, project management, and procurement services; floater designs, offshore wind, as well as engages in design, delivery, and construction of oil and gas production, and receiving and processing facilities. The company also provides offshore fish farming, carbon capture, utilization and storage, hydrogen and derivatives, hydropower, and offshore wind solutions. Further, it designs and constructs jackets for construction services and offers electrification services; and designs and constructs offshore oil and gas production facilities and onshore receiving and processing facilities. Additionally, the company provides maintenance, modifications, decommissioning, asset integrity management, hook-up, and completion solutions. Aker Solutions ASA was founded in 1841 and is headquartered in Fornebu, Norway.

About Weatherford International

Weatherford International plc, an energy services company, provides equipment and services for the drilling, evaluation, completion, production, and intervention of oil, geothermal, and natural gas wells worldwide. The company operates through three segments: Drilling and Evaluation; Well Construction and Completions; and Production and Intervention. It offers artificial lift systems, including reciprocating rod, progressing cavity pumping, gas, hydraulic, plunger, and hybrid lift systems, as well as related automation and control systems; pressure pumping and reservoir stimulation services, such as acidizing, fracturing, cementing, and coiled-tubing intervention; and software, automation and flow measurement solutions. The company also provides safety, downhole reservoir monitoring, flow control, and multistage fracturing systems, as well as sand-control technologies, and production and isolation packers; liner hangers to suspend a casing string in high-temperature and high-pressure wells; cementing products, including plugs, float and stage equipment, and torque-and-drag reduction technology for zonal isolation; and pre-job planning and installation services. In addition, it offers directional drilling services, and logging and measurement services while drilling; services related to rotary-steerable systems, high temperature and high pressure sensors, drilling reamers, and circulation subs; rotating control devices and advanced automated control systems, as well as closed loop drilling, air drilling, managed-pressure drilling, and underbalanced drilling services; open-hole and cased-hole logging services; and intervention and remediation services. Further, it provides tubular handling, management, and connection services; and re-entry, fishing, and well abandonment services, as well as patented bottom hole, tubular-handling equipment, pressure-control equipment, and drill pipe and collars. The company was incorporated in 1972 and is based in Houston, Texas.