USA Compression Partners (NYSE:USAC – Get Free Report) and Natural Gas Services Group (NYSE:NGS – Get Free Report) are both energy companies, but which is the better business? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their profitability, dividends, institutional ownership, earnings, valuation, risk and analyst recommendations.
Volatility and Risk
USA Compression Partners has a beta of 0.4, meaning that its share price is 60% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Natural Gas Services Group has a beta of 0.65, meaning that its share price is 35% less volatile than the S&P 500.
Analyst Recommendations
This is a summary of recent recommendations for USA Compression Partners and Natural Gas Services Group, as reported by MarketBeat.com.
| Sell Ratings | Hold Ratings | Buy Ratings | Strong Buy Ratings | Rating Score | |
| USA Compression Partners | 1 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 1.75 |
| Natural Gas Services Group | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 3.50 |
Valuation & Earnings
This table compares USA Compression Partners and Natural Gas Services Group”s gross revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.
| Gross Revenue | Price/Sales Ratio | Net Income | Earnings Per Share | Price/Earnings Ratio | |
| USA Compression Partners | $950.45 million | 3.03 | $99.57 million | $0.68 | 36.02 |
| Natural Gas Services Group | $156.74 million | 2.15 | $17.23 million | $1.35 | 19.90 |
USA Compression Partners has higher revenue and earnings than Natural Gas Services Group. Natural Gas Services Group is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than USA Compression Partners, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.
Institutional & Insider Ownership
47.8% of USA Compression Partners shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 65.6% of Natural Gas Services Group shares are owned by institutional investors. 5.1% of Natural Gas Services Group shares are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, hedge funds and large money managers believe a company will outperform the market over the long term.
Profitability
This table compares USA Compression Partners and Natural Gas Services Group’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.
| Net Margins | Return on Equity | Return on Assets | |
| USA Compression Partners | 9.99% | -81.01% | 3.58% |
| Natural Gas Services Group | 10.53% | 6.99% | 3.57% |
Summary
Natural Gas Services Group beats USA Compression Partners on 10 of the 15 factors compared between the two stocks.
About USA Compression Partners
USA Compression Partners, LP provides compression services under term contracts with customers in the natural gas and crude oil industries in the United States. The company engineers, designs, operates, services, and repairs its compression units; and maintains related support inventory and equipment. It also provides compression services in various shale plays, including the Utica, Marcellus, Permian Basin, Delaware Basin, Eagle Ford, Mississippi Lime, Granite Wash, Woodford, Barnett, Haynesville, Niobrara, and Fayetteville shales. As of December 31, 2017, the company had approximately 1,799,781 horsepower in its fleet. It serves oil companies; and independent producers, processors, gatherers, and transporters of natural gas and crude oil. USA Compression GP, LLC operates as the general partner of USA Compression Partners, LP. The company was formerly known as Compression Holdings, LP, and changed its name to USA Compression Partners, LP in June 2011. USA Compression Partners, LP was founded in 1998 and is headquartered in Austin, Texas.
About Natural Gas Services Group
Natural Gas Services Group, Inc. provides natural gas compression equipment and services to the energy industry in the United States. It engineers and fabricates, operates, rents, and maintains natural gas compressors for oil and natural gas production and plant facilities. It also designs, fabricates, and assembles compressor units for rental or sale; and designs, manufactures, and sells a line of reciprocating natural gas compressor frames, cylinders, and parts. In addition, the company offers flare stacks and related ignition and control devices for the onshore and offshore incineration of gas compounds, such as hydrogen sulfide, carbon dioxide, natural gas, and liquefied petroleum gases. Further, it provides aftermarket services for its compressor and flare sales business; and exchange and rebuild program for small horsepower screw compressors. It markets its products to exploration and production companies that utilize compressor units for artificial lift applications; and oil and natural gas exploration and production companies. Natural Gas Services Group, Inc. was incorporated in 1998 and is headquartered in Midland, Texas.
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