PTEN vs HP vs PDS Stock Comparison

Patterson Uti Energy, Helmerich & Payne and Precision Drilling Prices as of Oct 23, 2026 Peers: Industry group
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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
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.

QuestionPTENHPPDSLeader
Larger companyMarket capitalisation $4.66B $3.98B $1.32B PTEN
Cheaper on earningsLower P/E, profitable companies only -51.9x -29.0x -56.3x –
Cheaper on forward earningsLower price / next fiscal year consensus EPS — — 18.5x –
Faster revenue growthRevenue growth, trailing twelve months -6.9% +16.6% +5.0% HP
More profitableNet margin, trailing twelve months -1.9% -3.4% -1.7% PDS
Better return on capitalReturn on invested capital -0.9% 2.0% 0.0% HP
Less leveragedLower net debt / EBITDA 1.2x 2.0x 0.7x PDS
Higher dividend yieldTrailing dividend yield 0.00% 0.03% 0.00% –
Better 1-year returnPrice return, last 12 months +77.1% +51.5% +60.3% PTEN
Better 5-year returnAnnualised price return, 5 years +5.5%/yr +2.7%/yr +16.0%/yr PDS
Less volatileAnnualised volatility, 1 year 50.3% 42.8% 38.8% PDS
Higher overall scoreMean of the five percentile scores vs peers 52/100 39/100 51/100 PTEN

Percentile Scorecard

PTENHPPDS

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

AxisPTENHPPDS
Valuation 59 #20 of 47 67 #16 of 47 96 #3 of 47
Growth 42 #26 of 44 40 #27 of 44 21 #35 of 44
Profitability 23 #32 of 41 25 #31 of 41 63 #16 of 41
Financial Health 42 #27 of 46 33 #31 of 46 64 #17 of 46
Shareholder Returns 94 #3 of 32 29 #23 of 32 10 #29 of 32
Overall 52 39 51
  • PTEN 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

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

Risk

MeasurePTENHPPDSSPY
Volatility, 1Y 50.3%42.8%38.8% 12.7%
Downside volatility, 1Y 51.2%42.7%40.9% 12.7%
Beta vs S&P 500, 1Y -0.370.170.13 1.00
Return / volatility, 1Y 1.531.201.56 1.03
Max drawdown, 5Y -73.9%-71.9%-55.5% -25.4%
From 52-week high -9.0%-18.3%-7.7% -2.5%
52-week high $13.15$47.64$101.96 $779.14
52-week low $5.41$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.

MultiplePTENHPPDS
P/E now vs peer median -50.7xmedian 25.5x -28.4xmedian 25.5x -53.8xmedian 25.5x
P/S now vs peer median 1.0xmedian 1.2x 1.0xmedian 1.2x 0.9xmedian 1.2x
EV/EBITDA now vs peer median 6.7xmedian 8.8x 6.7xmedian 8.8x 2.8xmedian 8.8x
P/FCF now vs peer median 25.7xmedian 14.7x 12.3xmedian 14.7x 2.4xmedian 14.7x
P/B now vs peer median 1.5xmedian 1.6x 1.5xmedian 1.6x 1.1xmedian 1.6x
PEG now vs peer median 1.75median 0.41 0.86median 0.41 1.79median 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 monthsPTENHPPDS
Revenue $4.67B $4.00B $1.39B
Gross profit $1.11B $1.27B $429.47M
Operating income -$49.57M $89.92M $336.65M
Net income -$89.62M -$130.00M -$22.36M
Free cash flow $177.73M $315.29M $508.21M
R&D – $27.14M –
EPS (diluted) $-0.24 $-1.37 $-1.75
Cash & equivalents $203.17M $204.43M $46.65M
Total debt $4.95B $1.86B $1.91B
Shares (diluted) 380.19M 100.03M 13.34M
Enterprise value $3.51B $3.06B $1.15B

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

Growth

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

Profitability

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

Financial Health

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

Shareholder Returns

7 metrics
MetricPTENHPPDS
Dividend yield 3.2% 2.6% –
Net buyback yield 0.9% – -2.8%
Shareholder yield 4.1% 2.6% -2.8%
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.

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

Institutional Ownership

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

PTENHPPDS
PTEN 1.00 0.76 0.71
HP 0.76 1.00 0.66
PDS 0.71 0.66 1.00

Add a Peer

Largest companies in the same industry

Related Comparisons

Frequently Asked Questions

Which is bigger, PTEN, HP and PDS?

Patterson Uti Energy (PTEN) is the largest by market capitalisation: Patterson Uti Energy (PTEN) $4.66B, 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: Patterson Uti Energy (PTEN) -6.9%, Helmerich & Payne (HP) +16.6%, Precision Drilling (PDS) +5.0%.

Which company is more profitable?

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

Which stock has performed better?

Over the past year Patterson Uti Energy (PTEN) returned the most: Patterson Uti Energy (PTEN) +77.1%, Helmerich & Payne (HP) +51.5%, Precision Drilling (PDS) +60.3%. Over five years, Precision Drilling (PDS) compounded fastest (Patterson Uti Energy (PTEN) +5.5%/yr, Helmerich & Payne (HP) +2.7%/yr, Precision Drilling (PDS) +16.0%/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%, Precision Drilling (PDS) 0.00%. Patterson Uti Energy (PTEN) and Precision Drilling (PDS) pays no regular dividend.

Which stock is riskier?

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

Which is the better stock, PTEN, 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, 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.