NXT Energy Solutions (OTCMKTS:NSFDF) versus ProFrac (NASDAQ:ACDC) Critical Contrast

ProFrac (NASDAQ:ACDC) and NXT Energy Solutions (OTCMKTS:NSFDF) are both small-cap energy companies, but which is the better stock? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their institutional ownership, risk, analyst recommendations, valuation, profitability, earnings and dividends.

Analyst Ratings

This is a breakdown of current ratings for ProFrac and NXT Energy Solutions, as reported by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
ProFrac	3	2	1	0	1.67
NXT Energy Solutions	0	0	0	0	0.00

ProFrac currently has a consensus price target of $6.17, indicating a potential downside of 8.37%. Given ProFrac’s stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, equities analysts clearly believe ProFrac is more favorable than NXT Energy Solutions.

Institutional & Insider Ownership

12.8% of ProFrac shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 26.2% of NXT Energy Solutions shares are owned by institutional investors. 2.2% of ProFrac shares are owned by insiders. Comparatively, 34.1% of NXT Energy Solutions shares are owned by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, large money managers and endowments believe a company will outperform the market over the long term.

Risk & Volatility

ProFrac has a beta of 1.42, meaning that its stock price is 42% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, NXT Energy Solutions has a beta of 1.29, meaning that its stock price is 29% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Valuation & Earnings

This table compares ProFrac and NXT Energy Solutions”s top-line revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
ProFrac	$1.94 billion	0.63	-$369.00 million	($2.55)	-2.64
NXT Energy Solutions	$11.70 million	2.97	-$1.66 million	($0.09)	-3.23

NXT Energy Solutions has lower revenue, but higher earnings than ProFrac. NXT Energy Solutions is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than ProFrac, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Profitability

This table compares ProFrac and NXT Energy Solutions’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
ProFrac	-24.25%	-44.39%	-14.24%
NXT Energy Solutions	-312.44%	-91.43%	-66.88%

Summary

ProFrac beats NXT Energy Solutions on 9 of the 14 factors compared between the two stocks.

About ProFrac

ProFrac Holding Corp. operates as a technology-focused energy services holding company in the United States. It operates through three segments: Stimulation Services, Manufacturing, and Proppant Production. The company offers hydraulic fracturing, well stimulation, in-basin frac sand, and other completion services and complementary products and services to upstream oil and natural gas companies engaged in the exploration and production of unconventional oil and natural gas resources. It also manufactures and sells high horsepower pumps, valves, piping, swivels, large-bore manifold systems, and fluid ends. ProFrac Holding Corp. was founded in 2016 and is headquartered in Willow Park, Texas.

About NXT Energy Solutions

NXT Energy Solutions Inc., a technology company, provides services to the oil and gas industry through its proprietary stress field detection (SFD) technology worldwide. Its SFD technology, a remote sensing airborne survey system utilizes quantum-scale sensors to detect gravity field perturbations in an airborne survey method which can be used onshore and offshore to remotely identify traps and reservoirs with hydrocarbon and geothermal exploration potential. The company was formerly known as Energy Exploration Technologies Inc. and changed its name to NXT Energy Solutions Inc. in September 2008. NXT Energy Solutions Inc. was incorporated in 1994 and is headquartered in Calgary, Canada.