Head-To-Head Comparison: Subsea 7 (OTCMKTS:SUBCY) and Weatherford International (NASDAQ:WFRD)

Subsea 7 (OTCMKTS:SUBCY) and Weatherford International (NASDAQ:WFRD) are both mid-cap energy companies, but which is the superior business? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their analyst recommendations, profitability, risk, valuation, earnings, institutional ownership and dividends.

Institutional and Insider Ownership

0.0% of Subsea 7 shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 97.2% of Weatherford International shares are owned by institutional investors. 1.0% of Subsea 7 shares are owned by insiders. Comparatively, 2.1% of Weatherford International shares are owned 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.

Valuation and Earnings

This table compares Subsea 7 and Weatherford International”s revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Subsea 7	$6.84 billion	0.86	$201.40 million	$0.89	21.76
Weatherford International	$5.51 billion	0.74	$506.00 million	$6.46	8.74

Weatherford International has lower revenue, but higher earnings than Subsea 7. Weatherford International is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Subsea 7, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a breakdown of current ratings and price targets for Subsea 7 and Weatherford International, as reported by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Subsea 7	0	3	1	1	2.60
Weatherford International	0	1	7	0	2.88

Weatherford International has a consensus target price of $97.6250, suggesting a potential upside of 72.85%. Given Weatherford International’s stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, analysts clearly believe Weatherford International is more favorable than Subsea 7.

Risk and Volatility

Subsea 7 has a beta of 1.43, meaning that its share price is 43% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Weatherford International has a beta of 0.77, meaning that its share price is 23% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Dividends

Subsea 7 pays an annual dividend of $1.16 per share and has a dividend yield of 6.0%. Weatherford International pays an annual dividend of $1.00 per share and has a dividend yield of 1.8%. Subsea 7 pays out 130.3% of its earnings in the form of a dividend, suggesting it may not have sufficient earnings to cover its dividend payment in the future. Weatherford International pays out 15.5% of its earnings in the form of a dividend.

Profitability

This table compares Subsea 7 and Weatherford International’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Subsea 7	3.80%	6.12%	3.35%
Weatherford International	9.35%	34.87%	9.37%

Summary

Weatherford International beats Subsea 7 on 11 of the 17 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Subsea 7

Subsea 7 S.A. delivers offshore projects and services for the energy industry worldwide. It provides subsea field development products and services, including project management, design and engineering, procurement, fabrication, survey, installation, and commissioning of production facilities on the seabed and the tie-back of its facilities to fixed or floating platforms or to the shore. The company also offers engineering, procurement, commissioning, and installation of subsea umbilicals, risers, and flowlines; inspection, repair, maintenance, remote intervention, and integrity management of subsea infrastructure services; conventional services comprising fabrication, installation, extension, and refurbishment of fixed and floating platforms and associated pipelines in shallow water; and hook-up services. In addition, it operates heavy lifting operations and heavy transportation services for renewables structures; and installs offshore wind turbine foundations, as well as engages in the decommissioning of redundant offshore structures. Further, the company provides remotely operated vehicles (ROVs) and tooling services to support exploration and production activities, as well as engineering and advisory services for customers in the oil and gas, renewables, and utilities industries. The company was incorporated in 1993 and is based in Luxembourg, Luxembourg.

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.