Comparing Seadrill (NYSE:SDRL) & Liberty Energy (NYSE:LBRT)

Liberty Energy (NYSE:LBRT) and Seadrill (NYSE:SDRL) are both mid-cap energy companies, but which is the superior investment? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their earnings, risk, analyst recommendations, valuation, institutional ownership, dividends and profitability.

Profitability

This table compares Liberty Energy and Seadrill’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Liberty Energy	2.92%	1.14%	0.57%
Seadrill	0.07%	0.64%	0.46%

Valuation & Earnings

This table compares Liberty Energy and Seadrill”s top-line revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Liberty Energy	$4.20 billion	0.75	$147.87 million	$0.74	25.89
Seadrill	$1.44 billion	2.03	-$77.00 million	$0.03	1,553.30

Liberty Energy has higher revenue and earnings than Seadrill. Liberty Energy is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Seadrill, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Analyst Ratings

This is a breakdown of recent recommendations for Liberty Energy and Seadrill, as reported by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Liberty Energy	0	6	8	0	2.57
Seadrill	1	1	3	4	3.11

Liberty Energy presently has a consensus price target of $27.54, suggesting a potential upside of 43.77%. Seadrill has a consensus price target of $59.40, suggesting a potential upside of 27.47%. Given Liberty Energy’s higher possible upside, equities analysts plainly believe Liberty Energy is more favorable than Seadrill.

Risk and Volatility

Liberty Energy has a beta of 0.71, indicating that its stock price is 29% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Seadrill has a beta of 1.25, indicating that its stock price is 25% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Insider & Institutional Ownership

98.2% of Liberty Energy shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 95.7% of Seadrill shares are held by institutional investors. 2.0% of Liberty Energy shares are held by insiders. Comparatively, 0.5% of Seadrill shares are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, hedge funds and large money managers believe a stock will outperform the market over the long term.

Summary

Liberty Energy beats Seadrill on 10 of the 15 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Liberty Energy

Liberty Energy Inc. provides hydraulic services and related technologies to onshore oil and natural gas exploration, and production companies in North America. The company offers hydraulic fracturing services, including complementary services, such as wireline services, proppant delivery solutions, field gas processing and treating, compressed natural gas (CNG) delivery, data analytics, related goods comprising sand mine operations, and technologies; and well site fueling and logistics. As of as of December 31, 2023, the company owned and operated a fleet of approximately 40 active hydraulic fracturing; and two sand mines in the Permian Basin. In addition, the company provides services primarily in the Permian Basin, the Williston Basin, the Eagle Ford Shale, the Haynesville Shale, the Appalachian Basin (Marcellus Shale and Utica Shale), the Western Canadian Sedimentary Basin, the Denver-Julesburg Basin (the DJ Basin), and the Anadarko Basin. Liberty Energy Inc. was formerly known as Liberty Oilfield Services Inc. and changed its name to Liberty Energy Inc. in April 2022. The company was founded in 2011 and is headquartered in Denver, Colorado.

About Seadrill

Seadrill Ltd. engages in the provision of offshore drilling services to the oil and gas industry. It operates through the following segments: Floaters, Jack-up rigs, and Other. The Floaters segment encompasses drilling, completion, and maintenance of offshore exploration and production wells. the Jack-up Rigs segment includes drilling contracts relate to jack-up rigs for operations in harsh and benign environments in shallow water. The Other segment represents management services to third parties and related parties. The company was founded on May 10, 2005 and is headquartered in Hamilton, Bermuda.