NBR vs HP vs PDS Stock Comparison

Nabors Industries, Helmerich & Payne and Precision Drilling Prices as of Oct 26, 2026 Peers: Industry group
NBR Nabors Industries Ltd
$82.34 +1.1% 1M +73.9% 1Y
Market cap
$1.16B
P/E
4.7x
Revenue (TTM)
$3.23B
Div. yield
–
Land Drilling Energy
4 wins
HP Helmerich & Payne, Inc.
$39.82 +3.2% 1M +55.3% 1Y
Market cap
$3.98B
P/E
–
Revenue (TTM)
$4.00B
Div. yield
0.03%
Land Drilling Energy
2 wins

Head to Head

9 decided of 12

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

QuestionNBRHPPDSLeader
Larger companyMarket capitalisation $1.16B $3.98B $1.32B HP
Cheaper on earningsLower P/E, profitable companies only 4.7x -29.0x -56.6x –
Cheaper on forward earningsLower price / next fiscal year consensus EPS — — 19.4x –
Faster revenue growthRevenue growth, trailing twelve months +5.6% +16.6% +5.0% HP
More profitableNet margin, trailing twelve months 7.6% -3.4% -1.7% NBR
Better return on capitalReturn on invested capital 2.7% 2.0% 0.0% NBR
Less leveragedLower net debt / EBITDA 2.1x 2.0x 0.7x PDS
Higher dividend yieldTrailing dividend yield 0.00% 0.03% 0.00% –
Better 1-year returnPrice return, last 12 months +73.9% +55.3% +66.3% NBR
Better 5-year returnAnnualised price return, 5 years -6.0%/yr +4.6%/yr +17.2%/yr PDS
Less volatileAnnualised volatility, 1 year 51.5% 42.9% 39.1% PDS
Higher overall scoreMean of the five percentile scores vs peers 64/100 38/100 51/100 NBR

Percentile Scorecard

NBRHPPDS

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

AxisNBRHPPDS
Valuation 91 #5 of 47 67 #16 of 47 96 #3 of 47
Growth 63 #17 of 44 40 #27 of 44 23 #34 of 44
Profitability 85 #7 of 41 25 #31 of 41 63 #16 of 41
Financial Health 16 #39 of 46 31 #32 of 46 64 #17 of 46
Shareholder Returns – 29 #23 of 32 10 #29 of 32
Overall 64 38 51
  • NBR ranked among 48 companies in Oilfield Services and Equipment
  • HP ranked among 48 companies in Oilfield Services and Equipment
  • PDS 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

PeriodNBRHPPDSSPY
1 month +1.1%+3.2%+21.1% -0.8%
3 months +4.5%+18.4%+23.6% +3.5%
6 months -9.2%+3.0%+2.5% +7.0%
Year to date +51.6%+38.8%+37.8% +12.2%
1 year +73.9%+55.3%+66.3% +13.0%
3 years -19.9%+0.9%+71.3% +86.3%
3 years, per year -7.1%+0.3%+19.7% +23.1%
5 years -26.6%+25.3%+121.5% +68.6%
5 years, per year -6.0%+4.6%+17.2% +11.0%
10 years -86.6%-38.6%+5.1% +258.0%
10 years, per year -18.2%-4.8%+0.5% +13.6%

Risk

MeasureNBRHPPDSSPY
Volatility, 1Y 51.5%42.9%39.1% 12.7%
Downside volatility, 1Y 48.0%43.1%40.9% 12.7%
Beta vs S&P 500, 1Y 0.440.190.14 1.00
Return / volatility, 1Y 1.431.291.70 1.02
Max drawdown, 5Y -87.7%-71.9%-55.5% -25.4%
From 52-week high -25.6%-16.4%-2.9% -1.8%
52-week high $110.63$47.64$101.96 $779.14
52-week low $46.19$25.32$56.91 $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.

MultipleNBRHPPDS
P/E now vs peer median 4.8xmedian 25.5x -29.0xmedian 25.5x -56.5xmedian 25.5x
P/S now vs peer median 0.4xmedian 1.2x 1.0xmedian 1.2x 0.9xmedian 1.2x
EV/EBITDA now vs peer median 3.8xmedian 8.6x 6.8xmedian 8.6x 2.9xmedian 8.6x
P/FCF now vs peer median 33.1xmedian 14.7x 12.6xmedian 14.7x 2.5xmedian 14.7x
P/B now vs peer median 1.4xmedian 1.6x 1.5xmedian 1.6x 1.1xmedian 1.6x
PEG now vs peer median 0.05median 0.41 0.88median 0.41 1.88median 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 monthsNBRHPPDS
Revenue $3.23B $4.00B $1.39B
Gross profit $1.25B $1.27B $429.47M
Operating income $125.73M $89.92M $336.65M
Net income $322.20M -$130.00M -$22.36M
Free cash flow $39.65M $315.29M $508.21M
R&D $54.02M $27.14M –
EPS (diluted) $17.31 $-1.37 $-1.75
Cash & equivalents $509.78M $204.43M $46.65M
Total debt $2.12B $1.86B $1.91B
Shares (diluted) 14.27M 100.03M 13.34M
Enterprise value -$1.22B $3.06B $1.16B

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
MetricNBRHPPDS
P/E 4.8x -29.0x -56.5x
P/FCF 33.1x 12.6x 2.5x
P/Operating cash flow 1.9x 6.9x 4.3x
P/S 0.4x 1.0x 0.9x
P/B 1.4x 1.5x 1.1x
P/Tangible book 1.4x 1.8x 1.1x
EV/EBITDA 3.8x 6.8x 2.9x
EV/EBIT 23.3x 62.4x 5.0x
EV/Revenue 0.9x 1.4x 1.2x
EV/FCF 73.8x 17.8x 3.3x
EV/Operating cash flow 4.2x 9.7x 5.6x
PEG (3Y EPS CAGR) 0.05 0.88 1.88

Growth

14 metrics
MetricNBRHPPDS
Revenue growth (1Y) 5.6% 16.6% 5.0%
Revenue CAGR (3Y) 2.1% 12.0% -1.1%
Gross profit growth (1Y) -0.6% 5.7% -3.6%
Gross profit CAGR (3Y) 0.7% 4.1% -6.2%
Operating income growth (1Y) -53.7% -20.0% -7.6%
Operating income CAGR (3Y) -23.6% -45.2% -6.7%
Net income growth (1Y) 3,034% -340.3% -129.5%
Net income CAGR (3Y) 180.0% -32.4% -29.9%
EPS growth (1Y) 298.9% -341.3% -133.2%
EPS CAGR (3Y) 88.1% -32.9% -30.1%
Operating cash flow growth (1Y) 32.0% 14.8% -8.8%
Operating cash flow CAGR (3Y) 2.0% -7.7% -0.7%
Free cash flow growth (1Y) 126.8% 762.7% 2.8%
Free cash flow CAGR (3Y) -40.2% -5.9% 3.7%

Profitability

14 metrics
MetricNBRHPPDS
Gross margin 38.8% 31.8% 30.9%
EBITDA margin 23.9% 20.7% 41.7%
Operating margin 3.9% 2.3% 24.2%
Pretax margin 14.9% -1.0% 0.7%
Net margin 7.6% -3.4% -1.7%
FCF margin 1.2% 7.9% 36.6%
Operating cash flow margin 21.7% 14.5% 21.4%
Return on equity 33.9% -4.8% -1.9%
Return on assets 7.3% -2.0% -1.1%
Return on invested capital 2.7% 2.0% 0.0%
Return on capital employed 3.3% 1.6% 19.6%
Asset turnover 0.7x 0.6x 0.7x
Cash conversion (OCF / net income) 2.2x -4.5x -13.3x
Stock comp / revenue 0.7% 0.9% –

Financial Health

11 metrics
MetricNBRHPPDS
Debt / assets 48.0% 29.6% 23.0%
Debt / equity 2.2x 0.7x 0.4x
Net debt / EBITDA 2.1x 2.0x 0.7x
Debt / FCF 53.5x 5.9x 0.9x
Liabilities / assets 78.6% 57.5% 41.1%
Equity / assets 21.4% 42.5% 58.9%
Interest coverage 0.7x 0.9x 9.1x
Current ratio 1.9x 2.0x 1.5x
Quick ratio 1.6x 1.4x 1.3x
Cash ratio 0.8x 0.3x 0.2x
Altman Z-score 0.61 2.04 1.89

Shareholder Returns

7 metrics
MetricNBRHPPDS
Dividend yield – 2.5% –
Net buyback yield – – -2.6%
Shareholder yield 0.0% 2.5% -2.6%
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.

ConsensusNBRHPPDS
Forward P/E – – 19.4xFY2026
EPS, next fiscal year $-2.20FY2026 $-0.40FY2026 $5.11FY2026
EPS growth, next FY -112.7%FY2026 -142.6%FY2026 +5,010.0%FY2026
EPS growth, the year after – – +69.3%
Revenue, next fiscal year $3.26BFY2026 $4.22BFY2026 $1.57BFY2026
Revenue growth, next FY +2.6%FY2026 +12.6%FY2026 +17.1%FY2026
Revenue growth, the year after +6.5% +5.4% +2.1%

Institutional Ownership

13F filings, quarter ended Jun 30, 2026
HoldersNBRHPPDS
Held by institutions 76.0% 100.0% 64.3%
Institutions holding 242 374 134
Change in shares held, QoQ +8.5% -0.3% +7.6%
Institutions buying 146 175 64
Institutions selling 64 125 49
Buyers to sellers 2.28 1.40 1.31

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.

NBRHPPDS
NBR 1.00 0.75 0.65
HP 0.75 1.00 0.66
PDS 0.65 0.66 1.00

Add a Peer

Largest companies in the same industry

Related Comparisons

Frequently Asked Questions

Which is bigger, NBR, HP and PDS?

Helmerich & Payne (HP) is the largest by market capitalisation: Nabors Industries (NBR) $1.16B, Helmerich & Payne (HP) $3.98B, Precision Drilling (PDS) $1.32B.

Which company is growing faster?

Helmerich & Payne (HP) grew revenue fastest over the trailing twelve months: Nabors Industries (NBR) +5.6%, Helmerich & Payne (HP) +16.6%, Precision Drilling (PDS) +5.0%.

Which company is more profitable?

Nabors Industries (NBR) has the highest net margin (Nabors Industries (NBR) 7.6%, Helmerich & Payne (HP) -3.4%, Precision Drilling (PDS) -1.7%). On return on invested capital, Nabors Industries (NBR) leads (Nabors Industries (NBR) 2.7%, Helmerich & Payne (HP) 2.0%, Precision Drilling (PDS) 0.0%).

Which stock has performed better?

Over the past year Nabors Industries (NBR) returned the most: Nabors Industries (NBR) +73.9%, Helmerich & Payne (HP) +55.3%, Precision Drilling (PDS) +66.3%. Over five years, Precision Drilling (PDS) compounded fastest (Nabors Industries (NBR) -6.0%/yr, Helmerich & Payne (HP) +4.6%/yr, Precision Drilling (PDS) +17.2%/yr). Returns are price only, before dividends.

Which pays a higher dividend?

Only one of these companies pays a dividend: Nabors Industries (NBR) 0.00%, Helmerich & Payne (HP) 0.03%, Precision Drilling (PDS) 0.00%. Nabors Industries (NBR) and Precision Drilling (PDS) pays no regular dividend.

Which stock is riskier?

By one-year price volatility, Precision Drilling (PDS) has been the steadiest (Nabors Industries (NBR) 51.5%, Helmerich & Payne (HP) 42.9%, Precision Drilling (PDS) 39.1%). Volatility measures how widely the price swings, not the risk of the business.

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

There is no single answer; it depends on what you are buying for. On the 12 head-to-head measures on this page, Nabors Industries (NBR) 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.