Reviewing North American Construction Group (NYSE:NOA) & Oil States International (NYSE:OIS)

North American Construction Group (NYSE:NOA) and Oil States International (NYSE:OIS) are both small-cap energy companies, but which is the better stock? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their valuation, risk, earnings, institutional ownership, analyst recommendations, profitability and dividends.

Valuation and Earnings

This table compares North American Construction Group 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
North American Construction Group	$850.88 million	0.48	$32.17 million	$0.87	15.43
Oil States International	$692.59 million	0.48	-$11.26 million	$0.11	50.30

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

Profitability

This table compares North American Construction Group and Oil States International’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
North American Construction Group	2.82%	17.15%	4.16%
Oil States International	1.02%	2.56%	1.76%

Analyst Ratings

This is a summary of current recommendations and price targets for North American Construction Group and Oil States International, as provided by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
North American Construction Group	0	5	0	0	2.00
Oil States International	0	1	1	0	2.50

Oil States International has a consensus target price of $7.25, suggesting a potential upside of 31.03%. Given Oil States International’s stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, analysts plainly believe Oil States International is more favorable than North American Construction Group.

Institutional and Insider Ownership

75.0% of North American Construction Group shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 97.4% of Oil States International shares are owned by institutional investors. 9.7% of North American Construction Group shares are owned by insiders. Comparatively, 5.4% of Oil States International shares are owned by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, large money managers and endowments believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.

Volatility and Risk

North American Construction Group has a beta of 1.26, suggesting that its stock price is 26% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Oil States International has a beta of 1.87, suggesting that its stock price is 87% more volatile than the S&P 500.

About North American Construction Group

North American Construction Group Ltd. provides mining and heavy civil construction services to customers in the resource development and industrial construction sectors in Australia, Canada, and the United States. The company operates Heavy Equipment – Canada, Heavy Equipment – Australia, and Other segments. It also offers mine management services for thermal coal mines; and construction and operations support services in the Canadian oil sands region. In addition, the company provides fully maintained heavy equipment rentals and full service mine operations support at metallurgical and thermal coal mines; heavy equipment rentals to iron ore, gold and lithium producers; and heavy equipment maintenance, component remanufacturing, and full equipment rebuild services to mining companies and other heavy equipment operators, as well as supplies production-critical components to the mining and construction industry. As of December 31, 2023, it operated a heavy equipment fleet of 900 units. The company was formerly known as North American Energy Partners Inc. and changed its name to North American Construction Group Ltd. in April 2018. North American Construction Group Ltd. was incorporated in 1953 and is headquartered in Acheson, Canada.

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.