Comparing Baker Hughes (NASDAQ:BKR) and ProPetro (NYSE:PUMP)

Baker Hughes (NASDAQ:BKR) and ProPetro (NYSE:PUMP) are both energy companies, but which is the superior stock? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their dividends, valuation, analyst recommendations, profitability, institutional ownership, earnings and risk.

Profitability

This table compares Baker Hughes and ProPetro’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Baker Hughes	11.04%	14.56%	6.53%
ProPetro	-11.10%	1.84%	1.22%

Insider & Institutional Ownership

92.1% of Baker Hughes shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 84.7% of ProPetro shares are owned by institutional investors. 0.3% of Baker Hughes shares are owned by company insiders. Comparatively, 1.6% of ProPetro shares are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, endowments and large money managers believe a company will outperform the market over the long term.

Volatility & Risk

Baker Hughes has a beta of 0.99, suggesting that its stock price is 1% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, ProPetro has a beta of 1, suggesting that its stock price has a similar volatility profile to the S&P 500.

Valuation and Earnings

This table compares Baker Hughes and ProPetro”s revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Baker Hughes	$27.61 billion	1.73	$2.98 billion	$3.06	15.85
ProPetro	$1.44 billion	0.40	-$137.86 million	($1.47)	-3.74

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

Analyst Ratings

This is a summary of current recommendations for Baker Hughes and ProPetro, as reported by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Baker Hughes	0	4	22	0	2.85
ProPetro	2	4	2	0	2.00

Baker Hughes presently has a consensus target price of $52.00, suggesting a potential upside of 7.22%. ProPetro has a consensus target price of $7.80, suggesting a potential upside of 41.69%. Given ProPetro’s higher possible upside, analysts plainly believe ProPetro is more favorable than Baker Hughes.

Summary

Baker Hughes beats ProPetro on 11 of the 14 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Baker Hughes

Baker Hughes Company provides a portfolio of technologies and services to energy and industrial value chain worldwide. The company operates through Oilfield Services & Equipment (OFSE) and Industrial & Energy Technology (IET) segments. The OFSE segment designs and manufactures products and provides related services, including exploration, appraisal, development, production, rejuvenation, and decommissioning for onshore and offshore oilfield operations. This segment also provides drilling services, drill bits, and drilling and completions fluids; completions, intervention, measurements, pressure pumping, and wireline services; artificial lift systems, and oilfield and industrial chemicals; subsea projects and services, flexible pipe systems, and surface pressure control systems; and integrated well services and solutions. It serves oil and natural gas companies; the United States and international independent oil and natural gas companies; national or state-owned oil companies; engineering, procurement, and construction contractors; geothermal companies; and other oilfield service companies. The IET segment provides gas technology equipment, including drivers, driven equipment, flow control, and turnkey solutions for the mechanical-drive, compression, and power-generation applications; and energy sectors, such as oil and gas, LNG operations, petrochemical, and carbon solutions. This segment also provides rack-based vibration monitoring equipment and sensors; integrated asset performance management products; inspection services; pumps, valves, and gears; precision sensors and instrumentation, and condition monitoring solutions. It serves upstream, midstream, downstream, onshore, offshore, and small and large scale customers. The company was formerly known as Baker Hughes, a GE company and changed its name to Baker Hughes Company in October 2019. Baker Hughes Company was incorporated in 2016 and is based in Houston, Texas.

About ProPetro

ProPetro Holding Corp. operates as an integrated oilfield services company. The company provides hydraulic fracturing, wireline, cementing, and other complementary oilfield completion services to upstream oil and gas companies in the Permian Basin. ProPetro Holding Corp. was founded in 2007 and is headquartered in Midland, Texas.