HP vs PDS vs PTEN Stock Comparison

Helmerich & Payne, Precision Drilling and Patterson Uti Energy Prices as of Oct 23, 2026 Peers: Industry group
HP Helmerich & Payne, Inc.
$38.92 -1.6% 1M +51.5% 1Y
Market cap
$3.99B
P/E
–
Revenue (TTM)
$4.00B
Div. yield
0.03%
Land Drilling Energy
2 wins

Head to Head

9 decided of 12

Precision Drilling leads on 4 of the 12 questions below (Precision Drilling 4, Patterson Uti Energy 3, Helmerich & Payne 2). Which ones matter depends on what you are buying for; a cheap multiple and slow growth often come together.

QuestionHPPDSPTENLeader
Larger companyMarket capitalisation $3.99B $1.33B $4.67B PTEN
Cheaper on earningsLower P/E, profitable companies only -29.1x -56.8x -52.0x –
Cheaper on forward earningsLower price / next fiscal year consensus EPS — 18.5x — –
Faster revenue growthRevenue growth, trailing twelve months +16.6% +5.0% -6.9% HP
More profitableNet margin, trailing twelve months -3.4% -1.7% -1.9% PDS
Better return on capitalReturn on invested capital 2.0% 0.0% -0.9% HP
Less leveragedLower net debt / EBITDA 2.0x 0.7x 1.2x PDS
Higher dividend yieldTrailing dividend yield 0.03% 0.00% 0.00% –
Better 1-year returnPrice return, last 12 months +51.5% +60.3% +77.1% PTEN
Better 5-year returnAnnualised price return, 5 years +2.7%/yr +16.0%/yr +5.5%/yr PDS
Less volatileAnnualised volatility, 1 year 42.8% 38.8% 50.3% PDS
Higher overall scoreMean of the five percentile scores vs peers 39/100 51/100 52/100 PTEN

Percentile Scorecard

HPPDSPTEN

Each axis is the mean percentile of its metrics against the company's industry group. 100 is the best in the group, 50 the middle.

Scores by Axis

AxisHPPDSPTEN
Valuation 67 #16 of 47 96 #3 of 47 59 #20 of 47
Growth 40 #27 of 44 21 #35 of 44 42 #26 of 44
Profitability 25 #31 of 41 63 #16 of 41 23 #32 of 41
Financial Health 33 #31 of 46 64 #17 of 46 42 #27 of 46
Shareholder Returns 29 #23 of 32 10 #29 of 32 94 #3 of 32
Overall 39 51 52
  • HP ranked among 48 companies in Oilfield Services and Equipment
  • PDS ranked among 48 companies in Oilfield Services and Equipment
  • PTEN ranked among 48 companies in Oilfield Services and Equipment

Price Performance

Price return, split-adjusted, before dividends. Click a name to hide or show it.

Returns

PeriodHPPDSPTENSPY
1 month -1.6%+14.1%+8.1% -1.0%
3 months +10.2%+11.2%+17.4% +2.9%
6 months +1.5%-1.1%+5.6% +6.4%
Year to date +35.7%+31.0%+95.9% +11.4%
1 year +51.5%+60.3%+77.1% +13.1%
3 years -4.4%+56.3%-10.9% +79.4%
3 years, per year -1.5%+16.1%-3.8% +21.5%
5 years +14.1%+109.9%+31.0% +67.7%
5 years, per year +2.7%+16.0%+5.5% +10.9%
10 years -41.5%-2.1%-50.9% +255.2%
10 years, per year -5.2%-0.2%-6.9% +13.5%

Risk

MeasureHPPDSPTENSPY
Volatility, 1Y 42.8%38.8%50.3% 12.7%
Downside volatility, 1Y 42.7%40.9%51.2% 12.7%
Beta vs S&P 500, 1Y 0.170.13-0.37 1.00
Return / volatility, 1Y 1.201.561.53 1.03
Max drawdown, 5Y -71.9%-55.5%-73.9% -25.4%
From 52-week high -18.3%-7.7%-9.0% -2.5%
52-week high $47.64$101.96$13.15 $779.14
52-week low $25.32$56.91$5.41 $631.97

Valuation History

Weekly multiples on trailing twelve-month fundamentals. Negative or extreme readings (a loss year, a collapsed denominator) are left out so the chart stays readable.

MultipleHPPDSPTEN
P/E now vs peer median -28.4xmedian 25.5x -53.8xmedian 25.5x -50.7xmedian 25.5x
P/S now vs peer median 1.0xmedian 1.2x 0.9xmedian 1.2x 1.0xmedian 1.2x
EV/EBITDA now vs peer median 6.7xmedian 8.8x 2.8xmedian 8.8x 6.7xmedian 8.8x
P/FCF now vs peer median 12.3xmedian 14.7x 2.4xmedian 14.7x 25.7xmedian 14.7x
P/B now vs peer median 1.5xmedian 1.6x 1.1xmedian 1.6x 1.5xmedian 1.6x
PEG now vs peer median 0.86median 0.41 1.79median 0.41 1.75median 0.41

Financial History

Reported figures by fiscal period, placed on the calendar year (or quarter) each period ended in, so companies with different fiscal years line up.

Trailing twelve monthsHPPDSPTEN
Revenue $4.00B $1.39B $4.67B
Gross profit $1.27B $429.47M $1.11B
Operating income $89.92M $336.65M -$49.57M
Net income -$130.00M -$22.36M -$89.62M
Free cash flow $315.29M $508.21M $177.73M
R&D $27.14M – –
EPS (diluted) $-1.37 $-1.75 $-0.24
Cash & equivalents $204.43M $46.65M $203.17M
Total debt $1.86B $1.91B $4.95B
Shares (diluted) 100.03M 13.34M 380.19M
Enterprise value $3.07B $1.16B $3.52B

All Metrics

58 metrics · best in bold

Bold marks the best reading: the lowest positive value for multiples, leverage and payout, the highest for everything else. The bar under each value is its percentile against that company's own peers. Hover a value for its rank and the peer median.

Valuation

12 metrics
MetricHPPDSPTEN
P/E -28.4x -53.8x -50.7x
P/FCF 12.3x 2.4x 25.7x
P/Operating cash flow 6.7x 4.1x 6.2x
P/S 1.0x 0.9x 1.0x
P/B 1.5x 1.1x 1.5x
P/Tangible book 1.7x 1.1x 1.9x
EV/EBITDA 6.7x 2.8x 6.7x
EV/EBIT 61.4x 4.8x -112.9x
EV/Revenue 1.4x 1.2x 1.2x
EV/FCF 17.5x 3.2x 31.5x
EV/Operating cash flow 9.5x 5.4x 7.6x
PEG (3Y EPS CAGR) 0.86 1.79 1.75

Growth

14 metrics
MetricHPPDSPTEN
Revenue growth (1Y) 16.6% 5.0% -6.9%
Revenue CAGR (3Y) 12.0% -1.1% 15.1%
Gross profit growth (1Y) 5.7% -3.6% -11.7%
Gross profit CAGR (3Y) 4.1% -6.2% 1.9%
Operating income growth (1Y) -20.0% -7.6% 95.2%
Operating income CAGR (3Y) -45.2% -6.7% -28.4%
Net income growth (1Y) -340.3% -129.5% 91.7%
Net income CAGR (3Y) -32.4% -29.9% -31.2%
EPS growth (1Y) -341.3% -133.2% 91.6%
EPS CAGR (3Y) -32.9% -30.1% -28.9%
Operating cash flow growth (1Y) 14.8% -8.8% -23.6%
Operating cash flow CAGR (3Y) -7.7% -0.7% -5.8%
Free cash flow growth (1Y) 762.7% 2.8% -46.6%
Free cash flow CAGR (3Y) -5.9% 3.7% -22.6%

Profitability

14 metrics
MetricHPPDSPTEN
Gross margin 31.8% 30.9% 23.8%
EBITDA margin 20.7% 41.7% 17.8%
Operating margin 2.3% 24.2% -1.1%
Pretax margin -1.0% 0.7% -2.4%
Net margin -3.4% -1.7% -1.9%
FCF margin 7.9% 36.6% 3.8%
Operating cash flow margin 14.5% 21.4% 15.7%
Return on equity -4.8% -1.9% -2.9%
Return on assets -2.0% -1.1% -1.7%
Return on invested capital 2.0% 0.0% -0.9%
Return on capital employed 1.6% 19.6% -1.1%
Asset turnover 0.6x 0.7x 0.9x
Cash conversion (OCF / net income) -4.5x -13.3x -8.2x
Stock comp / revenue 0.9% – 0.6%

Financial Health

11 metrics
MetricHPPDSPTEN
Debt / assets 29.6% 23.0% 23.0%
Debt / equity 0.7x 0.4x 0.4x
Net debt / EBITDA 2.0x 0.7x 1.2x
Debt / FCF 5.9x 0.9x 6.9x
Liabilities / assets 57.5% 41.1% 42.2%
Equity / assets 42.5% 58.9% 57.8%
Interest coverage 0.9x 9.1x -0.7x
Current ratio 2.0x 1.5x 1.7x
Quick ratio 1.4x 1.3x 1.4x
Cash ratio 0.3x 0.2x 0.3x
Altman Z-score 2.02 1.84 1.82

Shareholder Returns

7 metrics
MetricHPPDSPTEN
Dividend yield 2.6% – 3.2%
Net buyback yield – -2.8% 0.9%
Shareholder yield 2.6% -2.8% 4.1%
Payout ratio (earnings) -77.9% – –
Payout ratio (FCF) 32.1% – –
Dividend growth (1Y) -13.9% – –
Dividend CAGR (3Y) -17.3% – –

Analyst Estimates

Solid lines are reported fiscal-year results; dashed lines are the consensus for the years ahead. Hover a year for the analysts' high and low, and how each result compared with its estimate.

ConsensusHPPDSPTEN
Forward P/E – 18.5xFY2026 –
EPS, next fiscal year $-0.38FY2026 $5.10FY2026 $-0.01FY2026
EPS growth, next FY -140.4%FY2026 +5,000.0%FY2026 –
EPS growth, the year after – +67.3% –
Revenue, next fiscal year $4.21BFY2026 $1.54BFY2026 $4.71BFY2026
Revenue growth, next FY +12.3%FY2026 +14.7%FY2026 -2.6%FY2026
Revenue growth, the year after +5.4% +2.3% +5.1%

Institutional Ownership

13F filings, quarter ended Jun 30, 2026
HoldersHPPDSPTEN
Held by institutions 100.0% 64.3% 100.0%
Institutions holding 374 134 435
Change in shares held, QoQ -0.3% +7.6% +1.0%
Institutions buying 175 64 258
Institutions selling 125 49 111
Buyers to sellers 1.40 1.31 2.32

Return Correlation

Daily returns, last 12 months

1.00 means two stocks move in lockstep, 0 that they move independently. Pairs below about 0.5 diversify each other.

HPPDSPTEN
HP 1.00 0.66 0.76
PDS 0.66 1.00 0.71
PTEN 0.76 0.71 1.00

Add a Peer

Largest companies in the same industry

Related Comparisons

Frequently Asked Questions

Which is bigger, HP, PDS and PTEN?

Patterson Uti Energy (PTEN) is the largest by market capitalisation: Helmerich & Payne (HP) $3.99B, Precision Drilling (PDS) $1.33B, Patterson Uti Energy (PTEN) $4.67B.

Which company is growing faster?

Helmerich & Payne (HP) grew revenue fastest over the trailing twelve months: Helmerich & Payne (HP) +16.6%, Precision Drilling (PDS) +5.0%, Patterson Uti Energy (PTEN) -6.9%.

Which company is more profitable?

Precision Drilling (PDS) has the highest net margin (Helmerich & Payne (HP) -3.4%, Precision Drilling (PDS) -1.7%, Patterson Uti Energy (PTEN) -1.9%). On return on invested capital, Helmerich & Payne (HP) leads (Helmerich & Payne (HP) 2.0%, Precision Drilling (PDS) 0.0%, Patterson Uti Energy (PTEN) -0.9%).

Which stock has performed better?

Over the past year Patterson Uti Energy (PTEN) returned the most: Helmerich & Payne (HP) +51.5%, Precision Drilling (PDS) +60.3%, Patterson Uti Energy (PTEN) +77.1%. Over five years, Precision Drilling (PDS) compounded fastest (Helmerich & Payne (HP) +2.7%/yr, Precision Drilling (PDS) +16.0%/yr, Patterson Uti Energy (PTEN) +5.5%/yr). Returns are price only, before dividends.

Which pays a higher dividend?

Only one of these companies pays a dividend: Helmerich & Payne (HP) 0.03%, Precision Drilling (PDS) 0.00%, Patterson Uti Energy (PTEN) 0.00%. Precision Drilling (PDS) and Patterson Uti Energy (PTEN) pays no regular dividend.

Which stock is riskier?

By one-year price volatility, Precision Drilling (PDS) has been the steadiest (Helmerich & Payne (HP) 42.8%, Precision Drilling (PDS) 38.8%, Patterson Uti Energy (PTEN) 50.3%). Volatility measures how widely the price swings, not the risk of the business.

Which is the better stock, HP, PDS and PTEN?

There is no single answer; it depends on what you are buying for. On the 12 head-to-head measures on this page, Precision Drilling (PDS) leads on 4. Business Quant does not give investment advice; use the comparison as a starting point for your own research.

Data from SEC filings, exchange prices and consensus estimates, via Business Quant. Percentile scores compare each company with its own peer group, so two companies' scores are each relative to different peers unless you rank against the whole market. Price returns exclude dividends. Nothing on this page is investment advice.