Contrasting Innovex International (NYSE:INVX) and Select Water Solutions (NYSE:WTTR)

Innovex International (NYSE:INVX) and Select Water Solutions (NYSE:WTTR) are both energy companies, but which is the superior business? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their profitability, valuation, analyst recommendations, earnings, institutional ownership, risk and dividends.

Institutional & Insider Ownership

81.7% of Select Water Solutions shares are held by institutional investors. 34.9% of Innovex International shares are held by company insiders. Comparatively, 6.2% of Select Water Solutions shares are held by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, hedge funds and large money managers believe a company will outperform the market over the long term.

Analyst Ratings

This is a breakdown of recent recommendations and price targets for Innovex International and Select Water Solutions, as provided by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Innovex International	0	2	3	1	2.83
Select Water Solutions	0	3	7	0	2.70

Innovex International currently has a consensus target price of $32.75, indicating a potential upside of 16.72%. Select Water Solutions has a consensus target price of $24.57, indicating a potential upside of 24.30%. Given Select Water Solutions’ higher probable upside, analysts plainly believe Select Water Solutions is more favorable than Innovex International.

Earnings & Valuation

This table compares Innovex International and Select Water Solutions”s top-line revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Innovex International	$978.25 million	2.01	$83.30 million	$0.89	31.53
Select Water Solutions	$1.41 billion	1.95	$21.22 million	$0.28	70.60

Innovex International has higher earnings, but lower revenue than Select Water Solutions. Innovex International is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Select Water Solutions, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Profitability

This table compares Innovex International and Select Water Solutions’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Innovex International	6.17%	7.12%	5.80%
Select Water Solutions	2.24%	3.11%	1.92%

Risk & Volatility

Innovex International has a beta of 0.92, suggesting that its stock price is 8% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Select Water Solutions has a beta of 1.01, suggesting that its stock price is 1% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Summary

Innovex International beats Select Water Solutions on 9 of the 15 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Innovex International

Innovex International, Inc. engages in the provision of solutions for both onshore and offshore applications within the oil and gas industry. The company was founded on September 15, 2016 and is headquartered in Humble, TX.

About Select Water Solutions

Select Water Solutions, Inc., together with its subsidiaries, provides water management and chemical solutions to the energy industry in the United States. The company operates through three segments: Water Services, Water Infrastructure, and Chemical Technologies. The Water Services segment provides water-related services, including water sourcing, water transfer, flowback and well testing, water containment, fluids hauling, water monitoring, and water network automation; technology solutions comprising hydrographic mapping, water volume and quality monitoring, remote pit and tank monitoring, leak detection, asset and fuel tracking, and automated-equipment services, as well as various surface rental equipment and workforce accommodation services. The Water Infrastructure segment engages in the recycling, gathering, transferring, and disposal of water through a network of permanent pipeline infrastructure, semi-permanent pipeline infrastructure, water recycling facilities, earthen pits, water sources, and SWDs; provides solids management services; and develops, builds, and operates semi-permanent and permanent infrastructure solutions. The Chemical Technologies segment provides technical solutions, products, and services related to chemical applications in the oil and gas industry. This segment develops, manufactures, and manages logistics; and provides chemicals used in hydraulic fracturing, stimulation, cementing, and well completions for pressure pumpers and oil and gas producers, as well as offers production chemical solutions for underperforming wells, corrosion and scale monitoring, chemical inventory management, well failure analysis, and lab services. It primarily serves oil and gas producers. The company was formerly known as Select Energy Services, Inc. and changed its name to Select Water Solutions, Inc. in May 2023. Select Water Solutions, Inc. was incorporated in 2016 and is headquartered in Houston, Texas.