Comparing Noble (NYSE:NE) & Pioneer Energy Services (OTCMKTS:PESXQ)

Noble (NYSE:NE) and Pioneer Energy Services (OTCMKTS:PESXQ) are both energy companies, but which is the better business? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their risk, institutional ownership, valuation, dividends, analyst recommendations, earnings and profitability.

Profitability

This table compares Noble and Pioneer Energy Services’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Noble	6.60%	2.34%	1.40%
Pioneer Energy Services	N/A	N/A	N/A

Valuation and Earnings

This table compares Noble and Pioneer Energy Services”s revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Noble	$3.29 billion	2.35	$216.72 million	$1.35	35.94
Pioneer Energy Services	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A

Noble has higher revenue and earnings than Pioneer Energy Services.

Institutional and Insider Ownership

68.1% of Noble shares are held by institutional investors. 1.5% of Noble shares are held by company insiders. Comparatively, 6.3% of Pioneer Energy Services shares are held by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, large money managers and hedge funds believe a stock will outperform the market over the long term.

Analyst Ratings

This is a breakdown of current ratings and recommmendations for Noble and Pioneer Energy Services, as provided by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Noble	1	10	1	0	2.00
Pioneer Energy Services	0	0	0	0	0.00

Noble currently has a consensus target price of $41.50, indicating a potential downside of 14.46%. Given Noble’s stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, research analysts clearly believe Noble is more favorable than Pioneer Energy Services.

Summary

Noble beats Pioneer Energy Services on 8 of the 9 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Noble

Noble Corp. Plc engages in the provision offshore drilling services for oil and gas industry. It focuses on a balanced fleet of floating and jackup rigs and the deployment of drilling rigs in oil and gas basins around the world. The company was founded by Lloyd Noble and Art Olson in 1921 and is headquartered in London, the United Kingdom.

About Pioneer Energy Services

Pioneer Energy Services Corp. provides land-based drilling and production services to oil and gas exploration and production companies. It provides contract land drilling services in the Marcellus/Utica, Permian Basin and Eagle Ford, and Bakken regions, as well as in Colombia. The company operates 16 AC rigs in the United States and 8 SCR rigs in Colombia. It also provides well, wireline, and coiled tubing services to various exploration and production companies in the onshore oil and gas producing regions in the Gulf Coast, Mid-Continent, and Rocky Mountain states. As of December 31, 2018, the company had a fleet of 113 rigs with 550 horsepower and 12 rigs with 600 horsepower; and 9 coiled tubing units. The company was formerly known as Pioneer Drilling Company and changed its name to Pioneer Energy Services Corp. in 2012. Pioneer Energy Services Corp. was founded in 1968 and is headquartered in San Antonio, Texas.