ProFrac (NASDAQ:ACDC) and Oil States International (NYSE:OIS) Critical Comparison

ProFrac (NASDAQ:ACDC) and Oil States International (NYSE:OIS) are both small-cap energy companies, but which is the superior investment? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their institutional ownership, profitability, earnings, risk, valuation, dividends and analyst recommendations.

Insider and Institutional Ownership

12.8% of ProFrac shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 97.4% of Oil States International shares are held by institutional investors. 2.2% of ProFrac shares are held by insiders. Comparatively, 7.6% of Oil States International shares are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, endowments and hedge funds believe a stock will outperform the market over the long term.

Profitability

This table compares ProFrac and Oil States International’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
ProFrac	-22.83%	-45.18%	-13.61%
Oil States International	-16.78%	4.28%	2.87%

Analyst Ratings

This is a breakdown of recent ratings and price targets for ProFrac and Oil States International, as reported by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
ProFrac	2	2	1	0	1.80
Oil States International	1	1	2	0	2.25

ProFrac currently has a consensus target price of $5.25, indicating a potential upside of 13.88%. Oil States International has a consensus target price of $11.33, indicating a potential upside of 36.81%. Given Oil States International’s stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, analysts clearly believe Oil States International is more favorable than ProFrac.

Risk & Volatility

ProFrac has a beta of 1.49, indicating that its share price is 49% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Oil States International has a beta of 1.12, indicating that its share price is 12% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Valuation and Earnings

This table compares ProFrac and Oil States International”s top-line revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
ProFrac	$1.94 billion	0.43	-$369.00 million	($2.33)	-1.98
Oil States International	$668.99 million	0.75	-$109.38 million	($1.89)	-4.38

Oil States International has lower revenue, but higher earnings than ProFrac. Oil States International is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than ProFrac, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Summary

Oil States International beats ProFrac on 11 of the 14 factors compared between the two stocks.

About ProFrac

ProFrac Holding Corp. operates as a technology-focused energy services holding company in the United States. It operates through three segments: Stimulation Services, Manufacturing, and Proppant Production. The company offers hydraulic fracturing, well stimulation, in-basin frac sand, and other completion services and complementary products and services to upstream oil and natural gas companies engaged in the exploration and production of unconventional oil and natural gas resources. It also manufactures and sells high horsepower pumps, valves, piping, swivels, large-bore manifold systems, and fluid ends. ProFrac Holding Corp. was founded in 2016 and is headquartered in Willow Park, Texas.

About Oil States International

Oil States International, Inc., through its subsidiaries, provides engineered capital equipment and products for the energy, industrial, and military sectors worldwide. The company operates through three segments: Well Site Services, Downhole Technologies, and Offshore/Manufactured Products. The Well Site Services segment offers a range of equipment and services that are used to drill for, establish, and maintain the flow of oil and natural gas from a well throughout its lifecycle. It also provides wireline support, frac stacks, isolation tools, downhole and extended reach activity, well testing and flowback operations, sand control, and land drilling services. The Downhole Technologies segment provides oil and gas perforation systems, and downhole tools in support of completion, intervention, wireline, and well abandonment operations. This segment also designs, manufactures, and markets its consumable engineered products to oilfield service, and exploration and production companies. The Offshore/Manufactured Products segment designs, manufactures, and markets capital equipment utilized on floating production systems, subsea pipeline infrastructure, and offshore drilling rigs and vessels. Its products include flexible bearings, advanced connector systems, high-pressure riser systems, managed pressure drilling systems, deepwater mooring systems, cranes, subsea pipeline products, and blow-out preventer stack integration products. This segment also provides short-cycle products, such as valves, elastomers, and other specialty products that are used in the land-based drilling and completion markets; and other products for use in industrial, military, alternative energy, and other applications. In addition, it offers specialty welding, fabrication, cladding and machining, offshore installation, and inspection and repair services. The company was incorporated in 1995 and is headquartered in Houston, Texas.