Head-To-Head Comparison: Caspian Services (OTCMKTS:CSSV) vs. Smart Sand (NASDAQ:SND)

Smart Sand (NASDAQ:SND) and Caspian Services (OTCMKTS:CSSV) are both energy companies, but which is the superior investment? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their dividends, valuation, analyst recommendations, risk, institutional ownership, profitability and earnings.

Risk & Volatility

Smart Sand has a beta of 0.38, suggesting that its stock price is 62% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Caspian Services has a beta of 18.91, suggesting that its stock price is 1,791% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Earnings and Valuation

This table compares Smart Sand and Caspian Services”s gross revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Smart Sand	$335.47 million	0.61	$2.99 million	$0.09	52.44
Caspian Services	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A

Smart Sand has higher revenue and earnings than Caspian Services.

Insider and Institutional Ownership

35.2% of Smart Sand shares are owned by institutional investors. 34.0% of Smart Sand shares are owned by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, hedge funds and endowments believe a company will outperform the market over the long term.

Profitability

This table compares Smart Sand and Caspian Services’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Smart Sand	1.16%	-7.55%	-5.25%
Caspian Services	N/A	N/A	N/A

Analyst Recommendations

This is a breakdown of current recommendations and price targets for Smart Sand and Caspian Services, as provided by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Smart Sand	0	1	0	0	2.00
Caspian Services	0	0	0	0	0.00

Summary

Smart Sand beats Caspian Services on 5 of the 8 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Smart Sand

Smart Sand, Inc., an integrated frac and industrial sand supply and services company, engages in the excavation, processing, and sale of sands or proppant for use in hydraulic fracturing operations in the oil and gas industry in the United States. It also provides proppant logistics services; and wellsite storage solutions through SmartSystems products and services. The company sells its products primarily to oil and natural gas exploration and production companies, oilfield service companies, and industrial manufacturers. Smart Sand, Inc. was incorporated in 2011 and is headquartered in Spring, Texas.

About Caspian Services

Caspian Services, Inc. provides various oilfield services for the oil and gas industry in the Republic of Kazakhstan and the Caspian Sea region. The company operates in three segments: Vessel Operations, Geophysical Services, and Marine Base Services. The Vessel Operations segment charters a fleet of shallow draft offshore support vessels to oil and natural gas exploration companies. This segment's vessel fleet includes supply vessels, survey/utility vessels, anchor handling multicats and support vessel tugs, cable laying barges, accommodation vessels, and crewboats. The Geophysical Services segment offers onshore geophysical services to independent oil and gas exploration and development companies operating in Kazakhstan. This segment provides geophysical seismic surveys, such as 2D and 3D seismic surveys. The Marine Base Services segment operates a marine base located at the Port of Bautino on the North Caspian Sea. This segment offers various facilities and services comprising long and short terms vessel moorings, wharf front crane pad for vessel loading/offloading, boat yard with vessel lifting facilities, long-term berths, water storage facilities and vessel bunkering, oily and waste water collection and removing facilities, weighbridge facilities, electrical power supply and distribution systems, and open lay-down storage area. The company was formerly known as EMPS Corporation and changed its name to Caspian Services, Inc. in July 2005. Caspian Services, Inc. was founded in 1998 and is based in Almaty, Kazakhstan.