Comparing NPK International (NYSE:NPKI) & Solaris Energy Infrastructure (NASDAQ:SEI)

NPK International (NYSE:NPKI) and Solaris Energy Infrastructure (NASDAQ:SEI) are both small-cap energy companies, but which is the superior investment? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their analyst recommendations, dividends, profitability, valuation, earnings, risk and institutional ownership.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a breakdown of current ratings and target prices for NPK International and Solaris Energy Infrastructure, as provided by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
NPK International	0	0	1	1	3.50
Solaris Energy Infrastructure	0	0	5	1	3.17

NPK International currently has a consensus target price of $11.50, indicating a potential upside of 96.25%. Solaris Energy Infrastructure has a consensus target price of $45.75, indicating a potential upside of 100.98%. Given Solaris Energy Infrastructure’s higher possible upside, analysts clearly believe Solaris Energy Infrastructure is more favorable than NPK International.

Volatility and Risk

NPK International has a beta of 2.86, indicating that its stock price is 186% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Solaris Energy Infrastructure has a beta of 1.32, indicating that its stock price is 32% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Insider and Institutional Ownership

80.8% of NPK International shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 67.4% of Solaris Energy Infrastructure shares are held by institutional investors. 4.8% of NPK International shares are held by company insiders. Comparatively, 34.7% of Solaris Energy Infrastructure shares are held by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, endowments and large money managers believe a stock will outperform the market over the long term.

Profitability

This table compares NPK International and Solaris Energy Infrastructure’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
NPK International	-28.47%	5.93%	4.08%
Solaris Energy Infrastructure	4.80%	6.66%	4.12%

Earnings & Valuation

This table compares NPK International and Solaris Energy Infrastructure”s top-line revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
NPK International	$217.49 million	2.33	$14.52 million	($1.72)	-3.41
Solaris Energy Infrastructure	$313.09 million	4.88	$24.34 million	$0.49	46.46

Solaris Energy Infrastructure has higher revenue and earnings than NPK International. NPK International is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Solaris Energy Infrastructure, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Summary

Solaris Energy Infrastructure beats NPK International on 11 of the 14 factors compared between the two stocks.

About NPK International

NPK International Inc. provides products, rentals, and services primarily to the oil and natural gas exploration and production (E&P) industry. It operates through two segments, Fluids Systems and Industrial Solutions. The Fluids Systems segment provides drilling, completion, and stimulation fluids products and related technical services to customers primarily in the North America, Europe, the Middle East, and Africa, as well as other countries in the Asia Pacific and Latin America. The Industrial Solutions segment offers composite matting system rentals utilized for temporary worksite access; related site construction and services to customers in various markets, including power transmission, E&P, pipeline, renewable energy, petrochemical, construction, and other industries primarily in the United States and Europe; recyclable composite mats to customers worldwide; and access road construction, site planning and preparation, environmental protection, erosion control, and site restoration services. The company was formerly known as Newpark Resources, Inc. and changed its name to NPK International Inc. in December 2024. The company was incorporated in 1932 and is headquartered in The Woodlands, Texas.

About Solaris Energy Infrastructure

Solaris Energy Infrastructure, Inc. is a holding company, which engages in the manufacture of patented mobile proppant management systems that unload, store, and deliver proppant to oil and natural gas well sites. Its products include Mobile Proppant and Mobile Chemical Management Systems, and Inventory Management Software. The firm’s services include field, last mile management, and transloading services. The company was founded by William A. Zartler in 2014 and is headquartered in Houston, TX.