Contrasting Weatherford International (NASDAQ:WFRD) & SLB (NYSE:SLB)

Weatherford International (NASDAQ:WFRD) and SLB (NYSE:SLB) are both energy companies, but which is the superior stock? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their valuation, analyst recommendations, dividends, earnings, profitability, risk and institutional ownership.

Earnings and Valuation

This table compares Weatherford International and SLB”s gross revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Weatherford International	$4.92 billion	1.54	$506.00 million	$5.93	17.79
SLB	$35.71 billion	2.12	$3.37 billion	$2.37	21.41

SLB has higher revenue and earnings than Weatherford International. Weatherford International is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than SLB, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Volatility & Risk

Weatherford International has a beta of 0.79, meaning that its share price is 21% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, SLB has a beta of 0.73, meaning that its share price is 27% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a breakdown of current ratings and recommmendations for Weatherford International and SLB, as provided by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Weatherford International	0	4	6	0	2.60
SLB	1	3	16	3	2.91

Weatherford International currently has a consensus target price of $90.50, indicating a potential downside of 14.23%. SLB has a consensus target price of $52.38, indicating a potential upside of 3.24%. Given SLB’s stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, analysts plainly believe SLB is more favorable than Weatherford International.

Profitability

This table compares Weatherford International and SLB’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Weatherford International	8.76%	28.07%	8.34%
SLB	9.45%	17.45%	8.11%

Insider and Institutional Ownership

97.2% of Weatherford International shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 82.0% of SLB shares are held by institutional investors. 2.1% of Weatherford International shares are held by insiders. Comparatively, 0.2% of SLB shares are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, large money managers and endowments believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.

Dividends

Weatherford International pays an annual dividend of $1.00 per share and has a dividend yield of 0.9%. SLB pays an annual dividend of $1.14 per share and has a dividend yield of 2.2%. Weatherford International pays out 16.9% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. SLB pays out 48.1% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Both companies have healthy payout ratios and should be able to cover their dividend payments with earnings for the next several years. SLB has raised its dividend for 5 consecutive years. SLB is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and longer track record of dividend growth.

Summary

SLB beats Weatherford International on 11 of the 18 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Weatherford International

Weatherford International plc, an energy services company, provides equipment and services for the drilling, evaluation, completion, production, and intervention of oil, geothermal, and natural gas wells worldwide. The company operates through three segments: Drilling and Evaluation; Well Construction and Completions; and Production and Intervention. It offers artificial lift systems, including reciprocating rod, progressing cavity pumping, gas, hydraulic, plunger, and hybrid lift systems, as well as related automation and control systems; pressure pumping and reservoir stimulation services, such as acidizing, fracturing, cementing, and coiled-tubing intervention; and software, automation and flow measurement solutions. The company also provides safety, downhole reservoir monitoring, flow control, and multistage fracturing systems, as well as sand-control technologies, and production and isolation packers; liner hangers to suspend a casing string in high-temperature and high-pressure wells; cementing products, including plugs, float and stage equipment, and torque-and-drag reduction technology for zonal isolation; and pre-job planning and installation services. In addition, it offers directional drilling services, and logging and measurement services while drilling; services related to rotary-steerable systems, high temperature and high pressure sensors, drilling reamers, and circulation subs; rotating control devices and advanced automated control systems, as well as closed loop drilling, air drilling, managed-pressure drilling, and underbalanced drilling services; open-hole and cased-hole logging services; and intervention and remediation services. Further, it provides tubular handling, management, and connection services; and re-entry, fishing, and well abandonment services, as well as patented bottom hole, tubular-handling equipment, pressure-control equipment, and drill pipe and collars. The company was incorporated in 1972 and is based in Houston, Texas.

About SLB

Schlumberger Limited engages in the provision of technology for the energy industry worldwide. The company operates through four divisions: Digital & Integration, Reservoir Performance, Well Construction, and Production Systems. The company provides field development and hydrocarbon production, carbon management, and integration of adjacent energy systems; reservoir interpretation and data processing services for exploration data; and well construction and production improvement services and products. It also offers subsurface geology and fluids evaluation information; open and cased hole services; exploration and production pressure, and flow-rate measurement services; and pressure pumping, well stimulation, and coiled tubing equipment solutions. In addition, the company offers mud logging, directional drilling, measurement-while-drilling, and logging-while-drilling services, as well as engineering support services; supplies drilling fluid systems; designs, manufactures, and markets roller cone and fixed cutter drill bits; bottom-hole-assembly and borehole enlargement technologies; well cementing products and services; well planning, well drilling, engineering, supervision, logistics, procurement, and contracting of third parties, as well as drilling rig management solutions; and drilling equipment and services, as well as land drilling rigs and related services. Further, it provides artificial lift production equipment and optimization services; supplies packers, safety valves, sand control technology, and various intelligent well completions technology and equipment; designs and manufactures valves, chokes, actuators, and surface trees; and OneSubsea, an integrated solutions, products, systems, and services, including wellheads, subsea trees, manifolds and flowline connectors, control systems, connectors, and services. The company was formerly known as Socie´te´ de Prospection E´lectrique. Schlumberger Limited was founded in 1926 and is based in Houston, Texas.