Smart Sand (NASDAQ:SND) & Valaris (NYSE:VAL) Head to Head Analysis

Smart Sand (NASDAQ:SND) and Valaris (NYSE:VAL) are both energy companies, but which is the better investment? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their earnings, valuation, dividends, risk, profitability, analyst recommendations and institutional ownership.

Earnings & Valuation

This table compares Smart Sand and Valaris”s top-line revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Smart Sand	$330.15 million	0.65	$1.35 million	$0.26	19.46
Valaris	$2.37 billion	2.46	$982.80 million	$13.39	6.26

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

Profitability

This table compares Smart Sand and Valaris’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Smart Sand	2.71%	4.41%	3.07%
Valaris	43.95%	9.25%	5.35%

Volatility & Risk

Smart Sand has a beta of 0.36, indicating that its stock price is 64% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Valaris has a beta of 1.04, indicating that its stock price is 4% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Analyst Ratings

This is a summary of recent recommendations and price targets for Smart Sand and Valaris, as provided by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Smart Sand	0	0	1	0	3.00
Valaris	1	6	0	0	1.86

Valaris has a consensus price target of $67.80, indicating a potential downside of 19.09%. Given Valaris’ higher possible upside, analysts clearly believe Valaris is more favorable than Smart Sand.

Institutional and Insider Ownership

35.2% of Smart Sand shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 96.7% of Valaris shares are held by institutional investors. 33.5% of Smart Sand shares are held by insiders. Comparatively, 0.8% of Valaris shares are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, endowments and large money managers believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Summary

Valaris beats Smart Sand on 10 of the 14 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Smart Sand

Smart Sand, Inc., an integrated frac and industrial sand supply and services company, engages in the excavation, processing, and sale of sands or proppant for use in hydraulic fracturing operations in the oil and gas industry in the United States. It also provides proppant logistics services; and wellsite storage solutions through SmartSystems products and services. The company sells its products primarily to oil and natural gas exploration and production companies, oilfield service companies, and industrial manufacturers. Smart Sand, Inc. was incorporated in 2011 and is headquartered in Spring, Texas.

About Valaris

Valaris Limited, together with its subsidiaries, provides offshore contract drilling services Gulf of Mexico, South America, North Sea, the Middle East, Africa, and the Asia Pacific. The company operates through four segments: Floaters, Jackups, ARO, and Other. It owns an offshore drilling rig fleet, which include drillships, dynamically positioned semisubmersible rigs, moored semisubmersible rig, and jackup rigs. It serves international, government-owned, and independent oil and gas. Valaris Limited was founded in 1975 and is based in Hamilton, Bermuda.