Core Laboratories (NYSE:CLB) vs. Caspian Services (OTCMKTS:CSSV) Critical Comparison

Core Laboratories (NYSE:CLB) and Caspian Services (OTCMKTS:CSSV) are both energy companies, but which is the better investment? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their risk, valuation, institutional ownership, analyst recommendations, dividends, earnings and profitability.

Earnings and Valuation

This table compares Core Laboratories and Caspian Services”s gross revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Core Laboratories	$523.85 million	1.09	$31.40 million	$0.62	19.65
Caspian Services	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A

Core Laboratories has higher revenue and earnings than Caspian Services.

Profitability

This table compares Core Laboratories and Caspian Services’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Core Laboratories	5.73%	14.15%	6.18%
Caspian Services	N/A	N/A	N/A

Analyst Ratings

This is a breakdown of recent ratings for Core Laboratories and Caspian Services, as provided by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Core Laboratories	1	3	0	0	1.75
Caspian Services	0	0	0	0	0.00

Core Laboratories currently has a consensus price target of $12.50, suggesting a potential upside of 2.63%. Given Core Laboratories’ stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, analysts plainly believe Core Laboratories is more favorable than Caspian Services.

Institutional and Insider Ownership

97.8% of Core Laboratories shares are held by institutional investors. 0.9% of Core Laboratories shares are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, hedge funds and large money managers believe a stock will outperform the market over the long term.

Risk & Volatility

Core Laboratories has a beta of 1.38, meaning that its share price is 38% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Caspian Services has a beta of 14.6, meaning that its share price is 1,360% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Summary

Core Laboratories beats Caspian Services on 8 of the 9 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Core Laboratories

Core Laboratories Inc. provides reservoir description and production enhancement services and products to the oil and gas industry in the United States, and internationally. It operates through Reservoir Description and Production Enhancement segments. The Reservoir Description segment includes the characterization of petroleum reservoir rock and reservoir fluid samples to enhance production and improve recovery of crude oil and gas from its clients' reservoirs. It offers laboratory-based analytical and field services to characterize properties of crude oil and oil delivered products; and proprietary and joint industry studies, as well as services that support carbon capture, utilization and storage, geothermal projects, and the evaluation and appraisal of mining activities. The Production Enhancement segment provides services and products relating to reservoir well completions, perforations, stimulations, production, and well abandonment. It offers integrated diagnostic services to evaluate and monitor the effectiveness of well completions and to develop solutions to improve the effectiveness of enhanced oil recovery projects. The company markets and sells its products through a combination of sales representatives, technical seminars, trade shows, and print advertising, as well as through distributors. Core Laboratories Inc. was founded in 1936 and is based in Houston, Texas.

About Caspian Services

Caspian Services, Inc. provides various oilfield services for the oil and gas industry in the Republic of Kazakhstan and the Caspian Sea region. The company operates in three segments: Vessel Operations, Geophysical Services, and Marine Base Services. The Vessel Operations segment charters a fleet of shallow draft offshore support vessels to oil and natural gas exploration companies. This segment's vessel fleet includes supply vessels, survey/utility vessels, anchor handling multicats and support vessel tugs, cable laying barges, accommodation vessels, and crewboats. The Geophysical Services segment offers onshore geophysical services to independent oil and gas exploration and development companies operating in Kazakhstan. This segment provides geophysical seismic surveys, such as 2D and 3D seismic surveys. The Marine Base Services segment operates a marine base located at the Port of Bautino on the North Caspian Sea. This segment offers various facilities and services comprising long and short terms vessel moorings, wharf front crane pad for vessel loading/offloading, boat yard with vessel lifting facilities, long-term berths, water storage facilities and vessel bunkering, oily and waste water collection and removing facilities, weighbridge facilities, electrical power supply and distribution systems, and open lay-down storage area. The company was formerly known as EMPS Corporation and changed its name to Caspian Services, Inc. in July 2005. Caspian Services, Inc. was founded in 1998 and is based in Almaty, Kazakhstan.