Financial Comparison: NPK International (NYSE:NPKI) & Weatherford International (NASDAQ:WFRD)

NPK International (NYSE:NPKI) and Weatherford International (NASDAQ:WFRD) are both oils/energy companies, but which is the superior investment? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their dividends, valuation, earnings, institutional ownership, analyst recommendations, risk and profitability.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a summary of recent recommendations for NPK International and Weatherford International, as provided by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
NPK International	0	0	1	0	3.00
Weatherford International	0	2	5	1	2.88

NPK International currently has a consensus price target of $12.00, indicating a potential upside of 101.01%. Weatherford International has a consensus price target of $107.63, indicating a potential upside of 107.41%. Given Weatherford International’s higher possible upside, analysts plainly believe Weatherford International is more favorable than NPK International.

Insider and Institutional Ownership

80.8% of NPK International shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 97.2% of Weatherford International shares are owned by institutional investors. 4.8% of NPK International shares are owned by insiders. Comparatively, 1.6% of Weatherford International shares are owned by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, endowments and hedge funds believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.

Profitability

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

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
NPK International	-28.47%	5.93%	4.08%
Weatherford International	9.18%	40.65%	9.85%

Volatility and Risk

NPK International has a beta of 2.86, indicating that its share price is 186% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Weatherford International has a beta of 0.61, indicating that its share price is 39% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Valuation & Earnings

This table compares NPK International and Weatherford International”s top-line revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
NPK International	$217.49 million	2.38	$14.52 million	($1.72)	-3.47
Weatherford International	$5.51 billion	0.69	$506.00 million	$6.72	7.72

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

Summary

Weatherford International beats NPK International on 11 of the 15 factors compared between the two stocks.

About NPK International

NPK International Inc. provides products, rentals, and services primarily to the oil and natural gas exploration and production (E&P) industry. It operates through two segments, Fluids Systems and Industrial Solutions. The Fluids Systems segment provides drilling, completion, and stimulation fluids products and related technical services to customers primarily in the North America, Europe, the Middle East, and Africa, as well as other countries in the Asia Pacific and Latin America. The Industrial Solutions segment offers composite matting system rentals utilized for temporary worksite access; related site construction and services to customers in various markets, including power transmission, E&P, pipeline, renewable energy, petrochemical, construction, and other industries primarily in the United States and Europe; recyclable composite mats to customers worldwide; and access road construction, site planning and preparation, environmental protection, erosion control, and site restoration services. The company was formerly known as Newpark Resources, Inc. and changed its name to NPK International Inc. in December 2024. The company was incorporated in 1932 and is headquartered in The Woodlands, Texas.

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.