Borr Drilling (NYSE:BORR) and Dawson Geophysical (NASDAQ:DWSN) Head to Head Analysis

Borr Drilling (NYSE:BORR) and Dawson Geophysical (NASDAQ:DWSN) are both small-cap energy companies, but which is the superior investment? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their institutional ownership, valuation, dividends, profitability, earnings, analyst recommendations and risk.

Risk and Volatility

Borr Drilling has a beta of 1.03, meaning that its stock price is 3% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Dawson Geophysical has a beta of -0.14, meaning that its stock price is 114% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Earnings and Valuation

This table compares Borr Drilling and Dawson Geophysical”s revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Borr Drilling	$1.02 billion	1.31	$45.00 million	($0.78)	-5.39
Dawson Geophysical	$104.31 million	0.86	-$1.94 million	$0.12	24.08

Borr Drilling has higher revenue and earnings than Dawson Geophysical. Borr Drilling is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Dawson Geophysical, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Institutional and Insider Ownership

83.1% of Borr Drilling shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 7.9% of Dawson Geophysical shares are held by institutional investors. 7.9% of Borr Drilling shares are held by company insiders. Comparatively, 0.3% of Dawson Geophysical shares are held 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.

Dividends

Borr Drilling pays an annual dividend of $0.10 per share and has a dividend yield of 2.4%. Dawson Geophysical pays an annual dividend of $0.32 per share and has a dividend yield of 11.1%. Borr Drilling pays out -12.8% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Dawson Geophysical pays out 266.7% of its earnings in the form of a dividend, suggesting it may not have sufficient earnings to cover its dividend payment in the future.

Analyst Ratings

This is a breakdown of current recommendations for Borr Drilling and Dawson Geophysical, as reported by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Borr Drilling	2	1	0	2	2.40
Dawson Geophysical	0	1	0	0	2.00

Borr Drilling presently has a consensus target price of $5.27, indicating a potential upside of 25.25%. Given Borr Drilling’s stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, analysts plainly believe Borr Drilling is more favorable than Dawson Geophysical.

Profitability

This table compares Borr Drilling and Dawson Geophysical’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Borr Drilling	-23.98%	-5.95%	-1.84%
Dawson Geophysical	3.49%	19.56%	6.73%

Summary

Borr Drilling beats Dawson Geophysical on 10 of the 16 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Borr Drilling

Borr Drilling Limited operates as an offshore shallow-water drilling contractor to the oil and gas industry worldwide. The company owns, contracts, and operates jack-up drilling rigs for operations in shallow-water areas, including the provision of related equipment and work crews to conduct oil and gas drilling and workover operations for exploration and production. It serves oil and gas exploration and production companies, such as integrated oil companies, state-owned national oil companies, and independent oil and gas companies. The company was formerly known as Magni Drilling Limited and changed its name to Borr Drilling Limited in December 2016. Borr Drilling Limited was incorporated in 2016 and is based in Hamilton, Bermuda.

About Dawson Geophysical

Dawson Geophysical Company provides onshore seismic data acquisition and processing services in the United States and Canada. The company acquires and processes 2-D, 3-D, and multi-component seismic data for its clients, including oil and gas companies, and independent oil and gas operators, as well as providers of multi-client data libraries and carbon capture sequestration projects. Its seismic crews supply seismic data primarily to companies engaged in the exploration and development of oil and natural gas on land and in land-to-water transition areas, as well as potash mining industry. The company was founded in 1952 and is headquartered in Midland, Texas. Dawson Geophysical Company is a subsidiary of Wilks Brothers, LLC.