Head-To-Head Comparison: Tenaris (NYSE:TS) and Tidewater (NYSE:TDW)

Tenaris (NYSE:TS) and Tidewater (NYSE:TDW) are both energy companies, but which is the superior investment? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their profitability, dividends, risk, earnings, institutional ownership, analyst recommendations and valuation.

Profitability

This table compares Tenaris and Tidewater’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Tenaris	15.88%	11.14%	9.40%
Tidewater	18.34%	5.36%	3.05%

Risk & Volatility

Tenaris has a beta of 0.89, meaning that its share price is 11% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Tidewater has a beta of 0.63, meaning that its share price is 37% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Institutional and Insider Ownership

10.4% of Tenaris shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 95.1% of Tidewater shares are owned by institutional investors. 0.2% of Tenaris shares are owned by company insiders. Comparatively, 5.9% of Tidewater shares are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, endowments and large money managers believe a stock will outperform the market over the long term.

Earnings & Valuation

This table compares Tenaris and Tidewater”s top-line revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Tenaris	$11.98 billion	2.50	$1.93 billion	$3.74	14.96
Tidewater	$1.35 billion	2.71	$334.66 million	$4.94	14.92

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

Analyst Ratings

This is a summary of current ratings and recommmendations for Tenaris and Tidewater, as reported by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Tenaris	0	6	5	0	2.45
Tidewater	0	4	4	1	2.67

Tenaris presently has a consensus price target of $61.59, suggesting a potential upside of 10.08%. Tidewater has a consensus price target of $98.25, suggesting a potential upside of 33.26%. Given Tidewater’s stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, analysts plainly believe Tidewater is more favorable than Tenaris.

Summary

Tidewater beats Tenaris on 8 of the 15 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Tenaris

Tenaris S.A., together with its subsidiaries, produces and sells seamless and welded steel tubular products and related services for the oil and gas industry, and other industrial applications. The company offers steel casings, tubing products, mechanical and structural pipes, line pipes, cold-drawn pipes, and premium joints and couplings; and coiled tubing products for oil and gas drilling and workovers, and subsea pipelines. It also manufactures sucker rods used in oil extraction activities and tubes for plumbing and construction applications; and offers oilfield/hydraulic fracturing services and energy and raw materials, and financial services. The company operates in North America, South America, Europe, the Middle East and Africa, and the Asia Pacific. Tenaris S.A. was founded in 2001 and is based in Luxembourg. Tenaris S.A. operates as a subsidiary of Techint Holdings S.à r.l.

About Tidewater

Tidewater Inc., together with its subsidiaries, provides offshore support vessels and marine support services to the offshore energy industry through the operation of a fleet of marine service vessels worldwide. It provides services in support of offshore oil and gas exploration, field development, and production, as well as windfarm development and maintenance, including towing of and anchor handling for mobile offshore drilling units; transporting supplies and personnel necessary to sustain drilling, workover, and production activities; offshore construction, and seismic and subsea support; geotechnical survey support for windfarm construction; and various specialized services, such as pipe and cable laying. The company operates anchor handling towing supply vessels, platform supply vessels, crew boats, utility vessels, and offshore tugs. The company serves integrated and independent oil and gas exploration, field development, and production companies; mid-sized and smaller independent exploration and production companies; foreign government-owned or government-controlled organizations, and other related companies; offshore drilling contractors; and other companies, such as offshore construction, windfarm development, diving, and well stimulation companies. Tidewater Inc. was incorporated in 1956 and is headquartered in Houston, Texas.