Western Energy Services (OTCMKTS:WEEEF) vs. Dawson Geophysical (NASDAQ:DWSN) Head to Head Contrast

Western Energy Services (OTCMKTS:WEEEF) and Dawson Geophysical (NASDAQ:DWSN) are both small-cap energy companies, but which is the better stock? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their earnings, dividends, risk, profitability, institutional ownership, valuation and analyst recommendations.

Analyst Ratings

This is a breakdown of recent ratings and target prices for Western Energy Services and Dawson Geophysical, as provided by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Western Energy Services	0	0	0	0	0.00
Dawson Geophysical	1	0	0	0	1.00

Institutional and Insider Ownership

7.9% of Dawson Geophysical shares are held by institutional investors. 50.0% of Western Energy Services shares are held by company insiders. Comparatively, 0.3% of Dawson Geophysical shares are held by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, hedge funds and endowments believe a company will outperform the market over the long term.

Dividends

Western Energy Services pays an annual dividend of ($100.00) per share and has a dividend yield of -6,849.2%. Dawson Geophysical pays an annual dividend of $0.32 per share and has a dividend yield of 15.9%. Western Energy Services pays out 71,427.9% of its earnings in the form of a dividend, suggesting it may not have sufficient earnings to cover its dividend payment in the future. Dawson Geophysical pays out -123.1% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Dawson Geophysical is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and lower payout ratio.

Earnings & Valuation

This table compares Western Energy Services and Dawson Geophysical”s top-line revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Western Energy Services	$162.82 million	0.30	-$5.22 million	($0.14)	-10.43
Dawson Geophysical	$55.99 million	1.11	-$4.12 million	($0.26)	-7.73

Dawson Geophysical has lower revenue, but higher earnings than Western Energy Services. Western Energy Services is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Dawson Geophysical, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Profitability

This table compares Western Energy Services and Dawson Geophysical’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Western Energy Services	-3.02%	-2.24%	-1.54%
Dawson Geophysical	-13.89%	-44.29%	-22.22%

Volatility & Risk

Western Energy Services has a beta of 0.69, meaning that its share price is 31% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Dawson Geophysical has a beta of -0.03, meaning that its share price is 103% less volatile than the S&P 500.

About Western Energy Services

Western Energy Services Corp. operates as an oilfield service company in Canada and the United States. It operates through Contract Drilling and Production Services segments. The Contract Drilling segment provides contract drilling services using drilling rigs and auxiliary equipment. The Production Services segment offers well servicing rig and related equipment, as well as rental equipment services. Western Energy Services Corp. is headquartered in Calgary, Canada.

About Dawson Geophysical

Dawson Geophysical Company provides onshore seismic data acquisition and processing services in the United States and Canada. The company acquires and processes 2-D, 3-D, and multi-component seismic data for its clients, including oil and gas companies, and independent oil and gas operators, as well as providers of multi-client data libraries and carbon capture sequestration projects. Its seismic crews supply seismic data primarily to companies engaged in the exploration and development of oil and natural gas on land and in land-to-water transition areas, as well as potash mining industry. The company was founded in 1952 and is headquartered in Midland, Texas. Dawson Geophysical Company is a subsidiary of Wilks Brothers, LLC.