PTEN vs HP vs NBR Stock Comparison

Patterson Uti Energy, Helmerich & Payne and Nabors Industries Prices as of Nov 5, 2026 Peers: Industry group
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HP Helmerich & Payne, Inc.
$34.69 -12.4% 1M +31.7% 1Y
Market cap
$3.51B
P/E
–
Revenue (TTM)
$4.00B
Div. yield
0.03%
Land Drilling Energy
2 wins
NBR Nabors Industries Ltd
$71.58 -11.9% 1M +38.1% 1Y
Market cap
$1.06B
P/E
–
Revenue (TTM)
$3.28B
Div. yield
–
Land Drilling Energy
1 win

Head to Head

9 decided of 12

Patterson Uti Energy leads on 6 of the 12 questions below (Patterson Uti Energy 6, Helmerich & Payne 2, Nabors Industries 1). Which ones matter depends on what you are buying for; a cheap multiple and slow growth often come together.

QuestionPTENHPNBRLeader
Larger companyMarket capitalisation $3.88B $3.51B $1.06B PTEN
Cheaper on earningsLower P/E, profitable companies only -155.5x -25.6x -27.7x –
Cheaper on forward earningsLower price / next fiscal year consensus EPS 331.7x — — –
Faster revenue growthRevenue growth, trailing twelve months +0.0% +16.6% +4.4% HP
More profitableNet margin, trailing twelve months -0.5% -3.4% -1.2% PTEN
Better return on capitalReturn on invested capital 1.0% 2.0% 3.3% NBR
Less leveragedLower net debt / EBITDA 1.0x 2.0x 1.7x PTEN
Higher dividend yieldTrailing dividend yield 0.00% 0.03% 0.00% –
Better 1-year returnPrice return, last 12 months +63.9% +31.7% +38.1% PTEN
Better 5-year returnAnnualised price return, 5 years +1.2%/yr +0.2%/yr -6.9%/yr PTEN
Less volatileAnnualised volatility, 1 year 52.7% 44.6% 51.5% HP
Higher overall scoreMean of the five percentile scores vs peers 64/100 40/100 61/100 PTEN

Percentile Scorecard

PTENHPNBR

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

AxisPTENHPNBR
Valuation 83 #9 of 47 67 #16 of 47 94 #4 of 47
Growth 56 #20 of 44 42 #26 of 44 63 #17 of 44
Profitability 38 #26 of 41 25 #31 of 41 65 #15 of 41
Financial Health 56 #21 of 46 31 #32 of 46 22 #36 of 46
Shareholder Returns 90 #4 of 32 32 #22 of 32 –
Overall 64 40 61
  • PTEN ranked among 48 companies in Oilfield Services and Equipment
  • HP ranked among 48 companies in Oilfield Services and Equipment
  • NBR 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

PeriodPTENHPNBRSPY
1 month -12.8%-12.4%-11.9% -5.9%
3 months -1.0%-6.4%-13.9% -4.6%
6 months -12.8%-6.0%-25.8% +0.2%
Year to date +62.8%+21.0%+31.8% +7.5%
1 year +63.9%+31.7%+38.1% +8.2%
3 years -20.3%-12.7%-26.0% +68.3%
3 years, per year -7.3%-4.4%-9.6% +19.0%
5 years +6.3%+1.1%-30.2% +56.5%
5 years, per year +1.2%+0.2%-6.9% +9.4%
10 years -53.5%-44.4%-87.7% +251.5%
10 years, per year -7.4%-5.7%-18.9% +13.4%

Risk

MeasurePTENHPNBRSPY
Volatility, 1Y 52.7%44.6%51.5% 13.6%
Downside volatility, 1Y 56.0%46.0%49.7% 14.2%
Beta vs S&P 500, 1Y -0.280.210.42 1.00
Return / volatility, 1Y 1.210.710.74 0.60
Max drawdown, 5Y -73.9%-71.9%-87.7% -25.4%
From 52-week high -25.3%-27.2%-35.3% -5.9%
52-week high $13.32$47.64$110.63 $779.14
52-week low $5.41$26.10$46.19 $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.

MultiplePTENHPNBR
P/E now vs peer median -151.9xmedian 22.0x -25.3xmedian 22.0x -27.1xmedian 22.0x
P/S now vs peer median 0.8xmedian 1.1x 0.9xmedian 1.1x 0.4xmedian 1.1x
EV/EBITDA now vs peer median 5.1xmedian 8.1x 6.2xmedian 8.1x 3.0xmedian 8.1x
P/FCF now vs peer median 14.2xmedian 14.2x 11.0xmedian 14.2x 10.6xmedian 14.2x
P/B now vs peer median 1.2xmedian 1.4x 1.3xmedian 1.4x 1.2xmedian 1.4x
PEG now vs peer median 5.56median 0.45 0.77median 0.45 -0.86median 0.45

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 monthsPTENHPNBR
Revenue $4.84B $4.00B $3.28B
Gross profit $1.16B $1.27B $1.26B
Operating income $41.76M $89.92M $276.04M
Net income -$24.21M -$130.00M $35.72M
Free cash flow $265.98M $315.29M $110.45M
R&D – $27.14M $54.38M
EPS (diluted) $-0.06 $-1.37 $-2.64
Cash & equivalents $339.31M $204.43M $475.07M
Total debt $1.23B $1.86B $2.02B
Shares (diluted) 384.36M 100.03M 14.50M
Enterprise value $2.58B $2.60B -$1.37B

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
MetricPTENHPNBR
P/E -151.9x -25.3x -27.1x
P/FCF 14.2x 11.0x 10.6x
P/Operating cash flow 4.6x 6.0x 1.6x
P/S 0.8x 0.9x 0.4x
P/B 1.2x 1.3x 1.2x
P/Tangible book 1.6x 1.5x 1.2x
EV/EBITDA 5.1x 6.2x 3.0x
EV/EBIT 111.8x 56.7x 9.8x
EV/Revenue 1.0x 1.3x 0.8x
EV/FCF 17.6x 16.2x 24.6x
EV/Operating cash flow 5.7x 8.8x 3.7x
PEG (3Y EPS CAGR) 5.56 0.77 -0.86

Growth

14 metrics
MetricPTENHPNBR
Revenue growth (1Y) 0.0% 16.6% 4.4%
Revenue CAGR (3Y) 13.0% 12.0% 2.2%
Gross profit growth (1Y) -2.4% 5.7% -1.8%
Gross profit CAGR (3Y) 0.6% 4.1% 0.1%
Operating income growth (1Y) 158.1% -20.0% 64.6%
Operating income CAGR (3Y) -51.1% -45.2% 2.9%
Net income growth (1Y) 82.1% -340.3% -89.0%
Net income CAGR (3Y) -27.8% -32.4% 70.4%
EPS growth (1Y) 81.7% -341.3% -118.8%
EPS CAGR (3Y) -27.3% -32.9% 31.5%
Operating cash flow growth (1Y) -6.9% 14.8% 23.0%
Operating cash flow CAGR (3Y) -1.5% -7.7% 3.8%
Free cash flow growth (1Y) -7.9% 762.7% 166.7%
Free cash flow CAGR (3Y) -6.6% -5.9% -9.3%

Profitability

14 metrics
MetricPTENHPNBR
Gross margin 24.1% 31.8% 38.4%
EBITDA margin 19.0% 20.7% 28.0%
Operating margin 0.9% 2.3% 8.4%
Pretax margin -0.5% -1.0% 2.9%
Net margin -0.5% -3.4% -1.2%
FCF margin 5.5% 7.9% 3.4%
Operating cash flow margin 16.9% 14.5% 22.3%
Return on equity -0.8% -4.8% 3.7%
Return on assets -0.4% -2.0% 0.8%
Return on invested capital 1.0% 2.0% 3.3%
Return on capital employed 0.9% 1.6% 7.4%
Asset turnover 0.9x 0.6x 0.7x
Cash conversion (OCF / net income) -33.8x -4.5x 20.5x
Stock comp / revenue 0.6% 0.9% 0.7%

Financial Health

11 metrics
MetricPTENHPNBR
Debt / assets 22.6% 29.6% 45.5%
Debt / equity 0.4x 0.7x 2.0x
Net debt / EBITDA 1.0x 2.0x 1.7x
Debt / FCF 4.6x 5.9x 18.3x
Liabilities / assets 43.6% 57.5% 77.7%
Equity / assets 56.4% 42.5% 22.3%
Interest coverage 0.6x 0.9x 1.5x
Current ratio 1.7x 2.0x 1.8x
Quick ratio 1.5x 1.4x 1.5x
Cash ratio 0.4x 0.3x 0.7x
Altman Z-score 1.65 1.95 0.69

Shareholder Returns

7 metrics
MetricPTENHPNBR
Dividend yield 3.8% 2.9% –
Net buyback yield 0.9% – –
Shareholder yield 4.7% 2.9% 0.0%
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.

ConsensusPTENHPNBR
Forward P/E 331.7xFY2026 – –
EPS, next fiscal year $0.03FY2026 $-0.40FY2026 $-2.86FY2026
EPS growth, next FY – -142.6%FY2026 -116.4%FY2026
EPS growth, the year after +1,200.0% – –
Revenue, next fiscal year $4.77BFY2026 $4.22BFY2026 $3.26BFY2026
Revenue growth, next FY -1.2%FY2026 +12.6%FY2026 +2.6%FY2026
Revenue growth, the year after +6.6% +5.4% +6.8%

Institutional Ownership

13F filings, quarter ended Jun 30, 2026
HoldersPTENHPNBR
Held by institutions 100.0% 100.0% 76.0%
Institutions holding 435 377 243
Change in shares held, QoQ +1.0% -0.3% +8.5%
Institutions buying 257 177 146
Institutions selling 111 125 65
Buyers to sellers 2.32 1.42 2.25

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.

PTENHPNBR
PTEN 1.00 0.78 0.74
HP 0.78 1.00 0.77
NBR 0.74 0.77 1.00

Add a Peer

Largest companies in the same industry

Related Comparisons

Frequently Asked Questions

Which is bigger, PTEN, HP and NBR?

Patterson Uti Energy (PTEN) is the largest by market capitalisation: Patterson Uti Energy (PTEN) $3.88B, Helmerich & Payne (HP) $3.51B, Nabors Industries (NBR) $1.06B.

Which company is growing faster?

Helmerich & Payne (HP) grew revenue fastest over the trailing twelve months: Patterson Uti Energy (PTEN) +0.0%, Helmerich & Payne (HP) +16.6%, Nabors Industries (NBR) +4.4%.

Which company is more profitable?

Patterson Uti Energy (PTEN) has the highest net margin (Patterson Uti Energy (PTEN) -0.5%, Helmerich & Payne (HP) -3.4%, Nabors Industries (NBR) -1.2%). On return on invested capital, Nabors Industries (NBR) leads (Patterson Uti Energy (PTEN) 1.0%, Helmerich & Payne (HP) 2.0%, Nabors Industries (NBR) 3.3%).

Which stock has performed better?

Over the past year Patterson Uti Energy (PTEN) returned the most: Patterson Uti Energy (PTEN) +63.9%, Helmerich & Payne (HP) +31.7%, Nabors Industries (NBR) +38.1%. Over five years, Patterson Uti Energy (PTEN) compounded fastest (Patterson Uti Energy (PTEN) +1.2%/yr, Helmerich & Payne (HP) +0.2%/yr, Nabors Industries (NBR) -6.9%/yr). Returns are price only, before dividends.

Which pays a higher dividend?

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

Which stock is riskier?

By one-year price volatility, Helmerich & Payne (HP) has been the steadiest (Patterson Uti Energy (PTEN) 52.7%, Helmerich & Payne (HP) 44.6%, Nabors Industries (NBR) 51.5%). Volatility measures how widely the price swings, not the risk of the business.

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

There is no single answer; it depends on what you are buying for. On the 12 head-to-head measures on this page, Patterson Uti Energy (PTEN) 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.