Head to Head Comparison: Profire Energy (NASDAQ:PFIE) and NPK International (NYSE:NPKI)

NPK International (NYSE:NPKI) and Profire Energy (NASDAQ:PFIE) are both small-cap oils/energy companies, but which is the superior stock? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their valuation, earnings, institutional ownership, profitability, risk, dividends and analyst recommendations.

Insider and Institutional Ownership

80.8% of NPK International shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 38.5% of Profire Energy shares are held by institutional investors. 4.8% of NPK International shares are held by insiders. Comparatively, 25.4% of Profire Energy shares are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, endowments and hedge funds believe a company will outperform the market over the long term.

Profitability

This table compares NPK International and Profire Energy’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%
Profire Energy	14.86%	15.12%	13.36%

Earnings & Valuation

This table compares NPK International and Profire Energy”s gross revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
NPK International	$749.60 million	0.77	$14.52 million	($1.83)	-3.66
Profire Energy	$60.02 million	1.96	$10.78 million	$0.18	14.11

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

Analyst Recommendations

This is a summary of current ratings and recommmendations for NPK International and Profire Energy, as reported by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
NPK International	0	0	0	0	0.00
Profire Energy	0	1	0	0	2.00

Profire Energy has a consensus target price of $2.55, suggesting a potential upside of 0.39%. Given Profire Energy’s stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, analysts clearly believe Profire Energy is more favorable than NPK International.

Volatility & Risk

NPK International has a beta of 2.89, suggesting that its share price is 189% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Profire Energy has a beta of 0.45, suggesting that its share price is 55% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Summary

Profire Energy beats NPK International on 9 of the 13 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 Profire Energy

Profire Energy, Inc., a technology company, engages in the engineering and design of burner, and combustion management systems and solutions for natural and forced draft applications in the United States and Canada. It primarily focuses on the upstream, midstream, and downstream transmission segments of the oil and gas industry. The company also sells and installs its systems in South America, Europe, Africa, the Middle East, and Asia. Profire Energy, Inc. was incorporated in 2002 and is headquartered in Lindon, Utah.