Critical Contrast: Energy Services of America (ESOA) versus Its Rivals

Energy Services of America (NASDAQ:ESOA) is one of 188 public companies in the “Construction & Engineering” industry, but how does it compare to its peers? We will compare Energy Services of America to similar companies based on the strength of its institutional ownership, risk, dividends, analyst recommendations, valuation, profitability and earnings.

Earnings & Valuation

This table compares Energy Services of America and its peers gross revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Net Income	Price/Earnings Ratio
Energy Services of America	$467.37 million	N/A	49.75
Energy Services of America Competitors	$10.73 billion	$456.60 million	-5,814.60

Energy Services of America’s peers have higher revenue and earnings than Energy Services of America. Energy Services of America is trading at a higher price-to-earnings ratio than its peers, indicating that it is currently more expensive than other companies in its industry.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a breakdown of recent ratings for Energy Services of America and its peers, as provided by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Energy Services of America	0	2	2	0	2.50
Energy Services of America Competitors	852	3471	7364	364	2.60

Energy Services of America presently has a consensus target price of $22.50, suggesting a potential upside of 147.14%. As a group, “Construction & Engineering” companies have a potential upside of 39.97%. Given Energy Services of America’s higher probable upside, analysts plainly believe Energy Services of America is more favorable than its peers.

Dividends

Energy Services of America pays an annual dividend of $0.16 per share and has a dividend yield of 1.8%. Energy Services of America pays out 87.4% of its earnings in the form of a dividend, suggesting it may not have sufficient earnings to cover its dividend payment in the future. As a group, “Construction & Engineering” companies pay a dividend yield of 2.2% and pay out 25.4% of their earnings in the form of a dividend. Energy Services of America lags its peers as a dividend stock, given its lower dividend yield and higher payout ratio.

Insider & Institutional Ownership

2.1% of Energy Services of America shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 48.9% of shares of all “Construction & Engineering” companies are owned by institutional investors. 44.7% of Energy Services of America shares are owned by insiders. Comparatively, 20.9% of shares of all “Construction & Engineering” companies are owned by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, hedge funds and large money managers believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Profitability

This table compares Energy Services of America and its peers’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Energy Services of America	N/A	N/A	N/A
Energy Services of America Competitors	-3.90%	2.87%	3.85%

Summary

Energy Services of America peers beat Energy Services of America on 9 of the 13 factors compared.

About Energy Services of America

Energy Services of America Corporation is a specialty contracting company serving natural gas, petroleum, water and wastewater, and electric utility markets. The company installs, repairs, and replaces pipelines and utility systems for commercial, industrial, and public-sector customers. Its work includes pipeline construction and maintenance, water and sewer line installation, electrical services, and related site work. The company also performs services such as horizontal directional drilling, trenching, welding, and pipeline testing.