ProFrac (NASDAQ:ACDC) vs. Archrock (NYSE:AROC) Head-To-Head Analysis

ProFrac (NASDAQ:ACDC) and Archrock (NYSE:AROC) are both energy companies, but which is the superior investment? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their valuation, institutional ownership, analyst recommendations, profitability, earnings, dividends and risk.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a summary of current ratings and price targets for ProFrac and Archrock, as reported by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
ProFrac	5	2	0	0	1.29
Archrock	0	1	7	1	3.00

ProFrac currently has a consensus price target of $5.80, indicating a potential upside of 15.31%. Archrock has a consensus price target of $31.50, indicating a potential upside of 28.39%. Given Archrock’s stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, analysts plainly believe Archrock is more favorable than ProFrac.

Institutional & Insider Ownership

12.8% of ProFrac shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 95.4% of Archrock shares are owned by institutional investors. 2.6% of ProFrac shares are owned by company insiders. Comparatively, 2.6% of Archrock shares are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, hedge funds and endowments believe a stock will outperform the market over the long term.

Profitability

This table compares ProFrac and Archrock’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
ProFrac	-12.89%	-22.78%	-8.09%
Archrock	18.43%	20.40%	6.81%

Risk and Volatility

ProFrac has a beta of 1.66, meaning that its stock price is 66% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Archrock has a beta of 1.11, meaning that its stock price is 11% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Earnings and Valuation

This table compares ProFrac and Archrock”s gross revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
ProFrac	$2.19 billion	0.42	-$215.10 million	($1.74)	-2.89
Archrock	$1.44 billion	2.99	$172.23 million	$1.50	16.36

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

Summary

Archrock beats ProFrac on 12 of the 15 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 Archrock

Archrock, Inc., together with its subsidiaries, operates as an energy infrastructure company in the United States. The company operates in two segments, Contract Operations and Aftermarket Services. It engages in the designing, sourcing, owning, installing, operating, servicing, repairing, and maintaining of its owned fleet of natural gas compression equipment to provide natural gas compression services. The company also sells over-the-counter parts and components; and provides operations, major and routine maintenance, overhaul, and reconfiguration services to customers who own compression equipment. It serves integrated and independent oil and natural gas processors, gatherers, and transporters. The company was formerly known as Exterran Holdings, Inc. and changed its name to Archrock, Inc. in November 2015. Archrock, Inc. was founded in 1990 and is headquartered in Houston, Texas.