Western Energy Services (OTCMKTS:WEEEF) versus Smart Sand (NASDAQ:SND) Head-To-Head Survey

Western Energy Services (OTCMKTS:WEEEF) and Smart Sand (NASDAQ:SND) are both small-cap energy companies, but which is the better business? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their earnings, analyst recommendations, dividends, risk, valuation, profitability and institutional ownership.

Profitability

This table compares Western Energy Services and Smart Sand’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Western Energy Services	-3.02%	-2.24%	-1.54%
Smart Sand	0.26%	-8.83%	-6.20%

Volatility and Risk

Western Energy Services has a beta of 0.69, indicating that its share price is 31% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Smart Sand has a beta of 0.77, indicating that its share price is 23% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Insider & Institutional Ownership

35.2% of Smart Sand shares are held by institutional investors. 50.0% of Western Energy Services shares are held by insiders. Comparatively, 34.0% of Smart Sand shares are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, large money managers and endowments believe a stock will outperform the market over the long term.

Earnings & Valuation

This table compares Western Energy Services and Smart Sand”s gross revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Western Energy Services	$162.82 million	0.30	-$5.22 million	($0.14)	-10.43
Smart Sand	$305.85 million	0.30	$2.99 million	$0.01	213.00

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

Analyst Ratings

This is a summary of current ratings and recommmendations for Western Energy Services and Smart Sand, as reported by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Western Energy Services	0	0	0	0	0.00
Smart Sand	1	0	0	0	1.00

Summary

Smart Sand beats Western Energy Services on 8 of the 12 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Western Energy Services

Western Energy Services Corp. operates as an oilfield service company in Canada and the United States. It operates through Contract Drilling and Production Services segments. The Contract Drilling segment provides contract drilling services using drilling rigs and auxiliary equipment. The Production Services segment offers well servicing rig and related equipment, as well as rental equipment services. Western Energy Services Corp. is headquartered in Calgary, Canada.

About Smart Sand

Smart Sand, Inc., an integrated frac and industrial sand supply and services company, engages in the excavation, processing, and sale of sands or proppant for use in hydraulic fracturing operations in the oil and gas industry in the United States. It also provides proppant logistics services; and wellsite storage solutions through SmartSystems products and services. The company sells its products primarily to oil and natural gas exploration and production companies, oilfield service companies, and industrial manufacturers. Smart Sand, Inc. was incorporated in 2011 and is headquartered in Spring, Texas.