Reviewing Noble (NYSE:NE) and Helmerich & Payne (NYSE:HP)

Helmerich & Payne (NYSE:HP) and Noble (NYSE:NE) are both mid-cap energy companies, but which is the superior business? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their dividends, valuation, risk, analyst recommendations, institutional ownership, earnings and profitability.

Earnings and Valuation

This table compares Helmerich & Payne and Noble”s revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Helmerich & Payne	$3.75 billion	0.95	-$163.70 million	($3.19)	-11.19
Noble	$3.29 billion	2.24	$216.72 million	$1.35	34.28

Noble has lower revenue, but higher earnings than Helmerich & Payne. Helmerich & Payne is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Noble, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Profitability

This table compares Helmerich & Payne and Noble’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Helmerich & Payne	-7.71%	0.28%	0.12%
Noble	6.60%	2.34%	1.40%

Insider and Institutional Ownership

96.1% of Helmerich & Payne shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 68.1% of Noble shares are held by institutional investors. 4.4% of Helmerich & Payne shares are held by company insiders. Comparatively, 1.2% of Noble shares are held by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, endowments and hedge funds believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Volatility & Risk

Helmerich & Payne has a beta of 0.54, indicating that its stock price is 46% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Noble has a beta of 1.07, indicating that its stock price is 7% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Dividends

Helmerich & Payne pays an annual dividend of $1.00 per share and has a dividend yield of 2.8%. Noble pays an annual dividend of $2.00 per share and has a dividend yield of 4.3%. Helmerich & Payne pays out -31.3% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Noble pays out 148.1% of its earnings in the form of a dividend, suggesting it may not have sufficient earnings to cover its dividend payment in the future.

Analyst Ratings

This is a breakdown of recent ratings and price targets for Helmerich & Payne and Noble, as provided by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Helmerich & Payne	2	6	4	0	2.17
Noble	1	10	1	0	2.00

Helmerich & Payne presently has a consensus price target of $36.20, indicating a potential upside of 1.38%. Noble has a consensus price target of $38.63, indicating a potential downside of 16.54%. Given Helmerich & Payne’s stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, research analysts clearly believe Helmerich & Payne is more favorable than Noble.

Summary

Noble beats Helmerich & Payne on 9 of the 16 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Helmerich & Payne

Founded in 1920, Helmerich & Payne, Inc. (H&P) (NYSE: HP) is committed to delivering industry leading levels of drilling productivity and reliability. H&P operates with the highest level of integrity, safety and innovation to deliver superior results for its customers and returns for shareholders. Through its subsidiaries, the Company designs, fabricates and operates high-performance drilling rigs in conventional and unconventional plays around the world. H&P also develops and implements advanced automation, directional drilling and survey management technologies. H&P’s fleet includes 299 land rigs in the U.S., 31 international land rigs and eight offshore platform rigs.

About Noble

Noble Corp. Plc engages in the provision offshore drilling services for oil and gas industry. It focuses on a balanced fleet of floating and jackup rigs and the deployment of drilling rigs in oil and gas basins around the world. The company was founded by Lloyd Noble and Art Olson in 1921 and is headquartered in London, the United Kingdom.