NE vs SFL vs HP Stock Comparison

Noble, Sfl and Helmerich & Payne Prices as of Oct 23, 2026 Peers: Industry group
NE Noble Corp plc
$47.73 +7.0% 1M +56.7% 1Y
Market cap
$7.66B
P/E
51.2x
Revenue (TTM)
$3.07B
Div. yield
–
Offshore Drilling Energy
6 wins
SFL SFL Corp Ltd.
$12.65 -0.6% 1M +77.4% 1Y
Market cap
$1.70B
P/E
26.2x
Revenue (TTM)
—
Div. yield
–
Marine Shipping Industrials
4 wins
HP Helmerich & Payne, Inc.
$38.92 -1.6% 1M +51.5% 1Y
Market cap
$3.98B
P/E
–
Revenue (TTM)
$4.00B
Div. yield
0.03%
Land Drilling Energy
1 win

Head to Head

11 decided of 12

Noble leads on 6 of the 12 questions below (Noble 6, Sfl 4, Helmerich & Payne 1). Which ones matter depends on what you are buying for; a cheap multiple and slow growth often come together.

QuestionNESFLHPLeader
Larger companyMarket capitalisation $7.66B $1.70B $3.98B NE
Cheaper on earningsLower P/E, profitable companies only 51.2x 26.2x -29.0x SFL
Cheaper on forward earningsLower price / next fiscal year consensus EPS 91.8x 23.0x — SFL
Faster revenue growthRevenue growth, trailing twelve months -11.1% — +16.6% HP
More profitableNet margin, trailing twelve months 4.9% — -3.4% NE
Better return on capitalReturn on invested capital 4.1% — 2.0% NE
Less leveragedLower net debt / EBITDA 1.6x 6.1x 2.0x NE
Higher dividend yieldTrailing dividend yield 0.00% 0.00% 0.03% –
Better 1-year returnPrice return, last 12 months +56.7% +77.4% +51.5% SFL
Better 5-year returnAnnualised price return, 5 years +12.4%/yr +8.7%/yr +2.7%/yr NE
Less volatileAnnualised volatility, 1 year 40.8% 31.1% 42.8% SFL
Higher overall scoreMean of the five percentile scores vs peers 58/100 45/100 39/100 NE

Percentile Scorecard

NESFLHP

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

AxisNESFLHP
Valuation 35 #31 of 47 31 #94 of 136 67 #16 of 47
Growth 37 #28 of 44 58 #52 of 122 40 #27 of 44
Profitability 68 #14 of 41 – 25 #31 of 41
Financial Health 58 #20 of 46 6 #139 of 147 33 #31 of 46
Shareholder Returns 90 #4 of 32 86 #13 of 84 29 #23 of 32
Overall 58 45 39
  • NE ranked among 48 companies in Oilfield Services and Equipment
  • SFL ranked among 150 companies in Transportation
  • HP 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

PeriodNESFLHPSPY
1 month +7.0%-0.6%-1.6% -1.0%
3 months +10.3%+6.1%+10.2% +2.9%
6 months -3.7%+15.7%+1.5% +6.4%
Year to date +69.0%+62.0%+35.7% +11.4%
1 year +56.7%+77.4%+51.5% +13.1%
3 years +2.1%+15.6%-4.4% +79.4%
3 years, per year +0.7%+5.0%-1.5% +21.5%
5 years +79.6%+51.5%+14.1% +67.7%
5 years, per year +12.4%+8.7%+2.7% +10.9%
10 years —-9.8%-41.5% +255.2%
10 years, per year —-1.0%-5.2% +13.5%

Risk

MeasureNESFLHPSPY
Volatility, 1Y 40.8%31.1%42.8% 12.7%
Downside volatility, 1Y 38.0%29.0%42.7% 12.7%
Beta vs S&P 500, 1Y 0.110.360.17 1.00
Return / volatility, 1Y 1.392.491.20 1.03
Max drawdown, 5Y -65.9%-52.6%-71.9% -25.4%
From 52-week high -12.2%-7.9%-18.3% -2.5%
52-week high $54.37$13.74$47.64 $779.14
52-week low $27.97$7.03$25.32 $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.

MultipleNESFLHP
P/E now vs peer median 50.9xmedian 25.5x 25.9xmedian 16.0x -28.4xmedian 25.5x
P/S now vs peer median 2.5xmedian 1.2x —median 1.0x 1.0xmedian 1.2x
EV/EBITDA now vs peer median 9.8xmedian 8.8x 11.1xmedian 8.7x 6.7xmedian 8.8x
P/FCF now vs peer median 26.8xmedian 14.7x —median 11.5x 12.3xmedian 14.7x
P/B now vs peer median 1.7xmedian 1.6x 1.8xmedian 1.2x 1.5xmedian 1.6x
PEG now vs peer median -1.95median 0.41 -1.44median 0.82 0.86median 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 monthsNESFLHP
Revenue $3.07B – $4.00B
Gross profit $1.08B – $1.27B
Operating income $348.74M – $89.92M
Net income $149.58M $64.88M -$130.00M
Free cash flow $283.92M – $315.29M
R&D – – $27.14M
EPS (diluted) $0.94 $0.49 $-1.37
Cash & equivalents $456.21M $113.10M $204.43M
Total debt $1.89B $2.38B $1.86B
Shares (diluted) 159.57M 133.06M 100.03M
Enterprise value $5.59B -$144.43B $3.06B

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
MetricNESFLHP
P/E 50.9x 25.9x -28.4x
P/FCF 26.8x – 12.3x
P/Operating cash flow 8.6x – 6.7x
P/S 2.5x – 1.0x
P/B 1.7x 1.8x 1.5x
P/Tangible book 1.7x 1.8x 1.7x
EV/EBITDA 9.8x 11.1x 6.7x
EV/EBIT 26.0x 29.0x 61.4x
EV/Revenue 3.0x – 1.4x
EV/FCF 31.9x – 17.5x
EV/Operating cash flow 10.3x – 9.5x
PEG (3Y EPS CAGR) -1.95 -1.44 0.86

Growth

14 metrics
MetricNESFLHP
Revenue growth (1Y) -11.1% – 16.6%
Revenue CAGR (3Y) 12.1% – 12.0%
Gross profit growth (1Y) -22.9% – 5.7%
Gross profit CAGR (3Y) 10.1% – 4.1%
Operating income growth (1Y) -42.7% – -20.0%
Operating income CAGR (3Y) -6.9% – -45.2%
Net income growth (1Y) -51.6% 82.4% -340.3%
Net income CAGR (3Y) -24.1% -18.9% -32.4%
EPS growth (1Y) -51.0% 78.2% -341.3%
EPS CAGR (3Y) -26.2% -18.0% -32.9%
Operating cash flow growth (1Y) -2.8% – 14.8%
Operating cash flow CAGR (3Y) 30.9% – -7.7%
Free cash flow growth (1Y) -30.7% – 762.7%
Free cash flow CAGR (3Y) 30.3% – -5.9%

Profitability

14 metrics
MetricNESFLHP
Gross margin 35.2% – 31.8%
EBITDA margin 30.0% – 20.7%
Operating margin 11.4% – 2.3%
Pretax margin 6.4% – -1.0%
Net margin 4.9% – -3.4%
FCF margin 9.3% – 7.9%
Operating cash flow margin 28.7% – 14.5%
Return on equity 3.3% – -4.8%
Return on assets 2.0% – -2.0%
Return on invested capital 4.1% – 2.0%
Return on capital employed 5.2% – 1.6%
Asset turnover 0.4x – 0.6x
Cash conversion (OCF / net income) 5.9x – -4.5x
Stock comp / revenue 1.1% – 0.9%

Financial Health

11 metrics
MetricNESFLHP
Debt / assets 26.1% 67.8% 29.6%
Debt / equity 0.4x 2.3x 0.7x
Net debt / EBITDA 1.6x 6.1x 2.0x
Debt / FCF 6.7x – 5.9x
Liabilities / assets 38.1% 70.6% 57.5%
Equity / assets 61.9% 29.4% 42.5%
Interest coverage 2.2x – 0.9x
Current ratio 1.9x 0.4x 2.0x
Quick ratio 1.6x 0.4x 1.4x
Cash ratio 0.7x 0.2x 0.3x
Altman Z-score 2.38 – 2.02

Shareholder Returns

7 metrics
MetricNESFLHP
Dividend yield 4.2% 6.6% 2.6%
Net buyback yield 0.0% – –
Shareholder yield 4.2% 6.6% 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.

ConsensusNESFLHP
Forward P/E 91.8xFY2026 23.0xFY2026 –
EPS, next fiscal year $0.52FY2026 $0.55FY2026 $-0.38FY2026
EPS growth, next FY -22.4%FY2026 +450.0%FY2026 -140.4%FY2026
EPS growth, the year after +334.6% +76.4% –
Revenue, next fiscal year $2.75BFY2026 $691.35MFY2026 $4.21BFY2026
Revenue growth, next FY -16.3%FY2026 -5.7%FY2026 +12.3%FY2026
Revenue growth, the year after +14.0% +19.5% +5.4%

Institutional Ownership

13F filings, quarter ended Jun 30, 2026
HoldersNESFLHP
Held by institutions 78.7% 43.5% 100.0%
Institutions holding 374 223 374
Change in shares held, QoQ -2.0% +15.8% -0.3%
Institutions buying 186 133 175
Institutions selling 126 55 125
Buyers to sellers 1.48 2.42 1.40

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.

NESFLHP
NE 1.00 0.28 0.58
SFL 0.28 1.00 0.19
HP 0.58 0.19 1.00

Add a Peer

Largest companies in the same industry

Related Comparisons

Frequently Asked Questions

Which is bigger, NE, SFL and HP?

Noble (NE) is the largest by market capitalisation: Noble (NE) $7.66B, Sfl (SFL) $1.70B, Helmerich & Payne (HP) $3.98B.

Which stock is cheaper, NE, SFL and HP?

Sfl (SFL) trades on the lowest price-to-earnings ratio (Noble (NE) 51.2x, Sfl (SFL) 26.2x, Helmerich & Payne (HP) -29.0x). On next year's consensus earnings, Sfl (SFL) is cheapest (Noble (NE) 91.8x, Sfl (SFL) 23.0x). A lower multiple can reflect slower expected growth, so read it next to the growth figures.

Which company is growing faster?

Helmerich & Payne (HP) grew revenue fastest over the trailing twelve months: Noble (NE) -11.1%, Helmerich & Payne (HP) +16.6%.

Which company is more profitable?

Noble (NE) has the highest net margin (Noble (NE) 4.9%, Helmerich & Payne (HP) -3.4%). On return on invested capital, Noble (NE) leads (Noble (NE) 4.1%, Helmerich & Payne (HP) 2.0%).

Which stock has performed better?

Over the past year Sfl (SFL) returned the most: Noble (NE) +56.7%, Sfl (SFL) +77.4%, Helmerich & Payne (HP) +51.5%. Over five years, Noble (NE) compounded fastest (Noble (NE) +12.4%/yr, Sfl (SFL) +8.7%/yr, Helmerich & Payne (HP) +2.7%/yr). Returns are price only, before dividends.

Which pays a higher dividend?

Only one of these companies pays a dividend: Noble (NE) 0.00%, Sfl (SFL) 0.00%, Helmerich & Payne (HP) 0.03%. Noble (NE) and Sfl (SFL) pays no regular dividend.

Which stock is riskier?

By one-year price volatility, Sfl (SFL) has been the steadiest (Noble (NE) 40.8%, Sfl (SFL) 31.1%, Helmerich & Payne (HP) 42.8%). Volatility measures how widely the price swings, not the risk of the business.

Which is the better stock, NE, SFL and HP?

There is no single answer; it depends on what you are buying for. On the 12 head-to-head measures on this page, Noble (NE) leads on 6. 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.