Caspian Services (OTCMKTS:CSSV) vs. RPC (NYSE:RES) Financial Review

RPC (NYSE:RES) and Caspian Services (OTCMKTS:CSSV) are both energy companies, but which is the better business? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their analyst recommendations, institutional ownership, valuation, earnings, risk, dividends and profitability.

Analyst Ratings

This is a breakdown of recent ratings and target prices for RPC and Caspian Services, as provided by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
RPC	1	4	0	0	1.80
Caspian Services	0	0	0	0	0.00

RPC presently has a consensus price target of $5.25, suggesting a potential downside of 23.75%. Given RPC’s stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, analysts plainly believe RPC is more favorable than Caspian Services.

Earnings & Valuation

This table compares RPC and Caspian Services”s revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
RPC	$1.63 billion	0.94	$32.08 million	$0.15	45.90
Caspian Services	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A

RPC has higher revenue and earnings than Caspian Services.

Institutional and Insider Ownership

41.1% of RPC shares are owned by institutional investors. 60.5% of RPC shares are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, hedge funds and large money managers believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Volatility and Risk

RPC has a beta of 0.61, suggesting that its share price is 39% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Caspian Services has a beta of 20.94, suggesting that its share price is 1,994% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Profitability

This table compares RPC and Caspian Services’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
RPC	1.97%	5.24%	3.97%
Caspian Services	N/A	N/A	N/A

Summary

RPC beats Caspian Services on 8 of the 9 factors compared between the two stocks.

About RPC

RPC, Inc., through its subsidiaries, engages provision of a range of oilfield services and equipment for the oil and gas companies involved in the exploration, production, and development of oil and gas properties. The company operates through Technical Services and Support Services segments. The Technical Services segment offers pressure pumping, fracturing, acidizing, cementing, downhole tools, coiled tubing, snubbing, nitrogen, well control, wireline, pump down, and fishing services that are used in the completion, production, and maintenance of oil and gas wells. The Support Services segment provides a range of rental tools for onshore and offshore oil and gas well drilling, completion, and workover activities. This segment also offers oilfield pipe inspection, and pipe management and storage services, as well as well control training and consulting services. It operates in the United States, Africa, Canada, Argentina, China, Mexico, Latin America, the Middle East, and internationally. The company was incorporated in 1984 and is headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia.

About Caspian Services

Caspian Services, Inc. provides various oilfield services for the oil and gas industry in the Republic of Kazakhstan and the Caspian Sea region. The company operates in three segments: Vessel Operations, Geophysical Services, and Marine Base Services. The Vessel Operations segment charters a fleet of shallow draft offshore support vessels to oil and natural gas exploration companies. This segment's vessel fleet includes supply vessels, survey/utility vessels, anchor handling multicats and support vessel tugs, cable laying barges, accommodation vessels, and crewboats. The Geophysical Services segment offers onshore geophysical services to independent oil and gas exploration and development companies operating in Kazakhstan. This segment provides geophysical seismic surveys, such as 2D and 3D seismic surveys. The Marine Base Services segment operates a marine base located at the Port of Bautino on the North Caspian Sea. This segment offers various facilities and services comprising long and short terms vessel moorings, wharf front crane pad for vessel loading/offloading, boat yard with vessel lifting facilities, long-term berths, water storage facilities and vessel bunkering, oily and waste water collection and removing facilities, weighbridge facilities, electrical power supply and distribution systems, and open lay-down storage area. The company was formerly known as EMPS Corporation and changed its name to Caspian Services, Inc. in July 2005. Caspian Services, Inc. was founded in 1998 and is based in Almaty, Kazakhstan.