Baker Hughes (NASDAQ:BKR) versus SEACOR Marine (NYSE:SMHI) Critical Comparison

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

Volatility & Risk

Baker Hughes has a beta of 1.07, suggesting that its stock price is 7% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, SEACOR Marine has a beta of 1.19, suggesting that its stock price is 19% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Institutional & Insider Ownership

92.1% of Baker Hughes shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 59.1% of SEACOR Marine shares are held by institutional investors. 0.2% of Baker Hughes shares are held by company insiders. Comparatively, 16.8% of SEACOR Marine shares are held by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, large money managers and endowments believe a stock will outperform the market over the long term.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a breakdown of current ratings and recommmendations for Baker Hughes and SEACOR Marine, as reported by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Baker Hughes	0	5	16	1	2.82
SEACOR Marine	1	1	1	0	2.00

Baker Hughes currently has a consensus target price of $70.27, suggesting a potential upside of 45.04%. SEACOR Marine has a consensus target price of $10.00, suggesting a potential upside of 9.35%. Given Baker Hughes’ stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, equities research analysts clearly believe Baker Hughes is more favorable than SEACOR Marine.

Earnings and Valuation

This table compares Baker Hughes and SEACOR Marine”s top-line revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Baker Hughes	$27.73 billion	1.73	$2.59 billion	$2.90	16.71
SEACOR Marine	$227.83 million	1.09	-$27.84 million	($1.42)	-6.44

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

Profitability

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

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Baker Hughes	10.08%	13.55%	5.27%
SEACOR Marine	-17.55%	-14.51%	-5.74%

Summary

Baker Hughes beats SEACOR Marine on 13 of the 15 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 SEACOR Marine

SEACOR Marine Holdings Inc. provides marine and support transportation services to offshore oil, natural gas, and windfarm facilities worldwide. Its offshore support and specialty vessels deliver cargo and personnel to offshore installations, including offshore wind farms; handle anchors and mooring equipment for offshore rigs and platforms; assist offshore operations for production and storage facilities; provide construction, well work-over, and offshore wind farm installation and decommissioning support; and carry and launch equipment used underwater in drilling and well installation, maintenance, inspection, and repair, as well as offer accommodations for technicians and specialists, safety support, and emergency response services. As of December 31, 2023, the company operated a fleet of 58 support vessels, of which 55 were owned or leased-in, and three were managed on behalf of unaffiliated third parties. It serves integrated national and international oil companies, independent oil and natural gas exploration and production companies, and oil field service and construction companies, as well as offshore wind farm operators and offshore wind farm installation and maintenance companies. SEACOR Marine Holdings Inc. was founded in 1989 and is headquartered in Houston, Texas.