Precision Drilling (NYSE:PDS) vs. KLX Energy Services (NASDAQ:KLXE) Head-To-Head Comparison

KLX Energy Services (NASDAQ:KLXE) and Precision Drilling (NYSE:PDS) are both small-cap energy companies, but which is the better investment? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their profitability, institutional ownership, analyst recommendations, dividends, risk, earnings and valuation.

Volatility & Risk

KLX Energy Services has a beta of 0.85, indicating that its share price is 15% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Precision Drilling has a beta of 0.78, indicating that its share price is 22% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Insider & Institutional Ownership

42.7% of KLX Energy Services shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 48.9% of Precision Drilling shares are held by institutional investors. 5.4% of KLX Energy Services shares are held by insiders. Comparatively, 0.9% of Precision Drilling shares are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, hedge funds and endowments believe a stock will outperform the market over the long term.

Valuation & Earnings

This table compares KLX Energy Services and Precision Drilling”s top-line revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
KLX Energy Services	$636.60 million	0.05	-$77.10 million	($3.16)	-0.47
Precision Drilling	$1.32 billion	0.88	$1.32 million	($2.09)	-43.25

Precision Drilling has higher revenue and earnings than KLX Energy Services. Precision Drilling is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than KLX Energy Services, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Profitability

This table compares KLX Energy Services and Precision Drilling’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
KLX Energy Services	-9.71%	N/A	-18.46%
Precision Drilling	-1.68%	2.11%	1.24%

Analyst Ratings

This is a summary of recent recommendations and price targets for KLX Energy Services and Precision Drilling, as reported by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
KLX Energy Services	1	1	0	0	1.50
Precision Drilling	2	1	4	1	2.50

Precision Drilling has a consensus price target of $122.33, suggesting a potential upside of 35.34%. Given Precision Drilling’s stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, analysts plainly believe Precision Drilling is more favorable than KLX Energy Services.

Summary

Precision Drilling beats KLX Energy Services on 12 of the 15 factors compared between the two stocks.

About KLX Energy Services

KLX Energy Services Holdings, Inc. provides drilling, completions, production, and well intervention services and products to the onshore oil and gas producing regions of the United States. The company operates through three segments: Southwest, Rocky Mountains, and Northeast/Mid-Con. It provides directional drilling services; downhole navigational and rental tools businesses and support services, including well planning, site supervision, accommodation rentals, and other drilling rentals; and various technologies, including gamma ray, azimuthal gamma ray, real-time continuous inclination and azimuth, rotary steerable, pressure-while-drilling, mode shifting, stick-slip and destructive dynamics, dynamic sequencing and real-time shock, and vibration modules. The company also offers coiled tubing and nitrogen services; wireline services, including pump down perforating, logging, and pipe recover; pressure control products and services; wellhead and hydraulic fracturing rental products and services; flowback and testing services; thru-tubing technologies and services; rig assist snubbing services; cementing products and services; acidizing and pressure pumping services; and downhole completion tools, such as toe sleeves, wet shoe cementing bypass subs, composite plugs, dissolvable plugs, liner hangers, stage cementing tools, inflatables, float and casing equipment, and retrievable completion tools. In addition, it provides production services comprising maintenance-related intervention services; production blow out preventers; mechanical wireline services; slick line services; hydro-testing services; premium tubulars; and other specialized production tools. Further, the company provides intervention services consisting of technicians and equipment that are focused on providing customers engineered solutions to downhole complications. KLX Energy Services Holdings, Inc. was incorporated in 2018 and is headquartered in Houston, Texas.

About Precision Drilling

Precision Drilling Corporation, a drilling company, provides onshore drilling, completion, and production services to exploration and production companies in the oil and natural gas and geothermal industries in North America and the Middle East. The company operates through Contract Drilling Services and Completion and Production Services segments. The Contract Drilling Services segment offers onshore well drilling services to exploration and production companies in the geothermal, oil and natural gas industry. This segment offers services include land and turnkey drilling; and procurement and distribution of oilfield supplies, as well as manufacture and repair of drilling and service rig equipment. In addition, it operates land drilling rigs in Canada, the United States, and the Middle East, as well as operates AlphaAutomation, AlphaApps, and AlphaAnalytics data services. The company offers EverGreen suite of environmental solutions comprising EverGreenMonitoring, EverGreenEnergy, and EverGreen Fuel Cell. The Completion and Production Services segment provides service rigs for well completion, workover, abandonment, maintenance, and re-entry preparation services; equipment rentals; and camp and catering services to oil and natural gas exploration and production companies. This segment operates well completion and workover service rigs in Canada and the United States. Precision Drilling Corporation was founded in 1951 and is headquartered in Calgary, Canada.