Contrasting DXP Enterprises (NASDAQ:DXPE) & NPK International (NYSE:NPKI)

NPK International (NYSE:NPKI) and DXP Enterprises (NASDAQ:DXPE) are both industrials companies, but which is the better stock? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their earnings, institutional ownership, profitability, analyst recommendations, risk, valuation and dividends.

Insider and Institutional Ownership

80.8% of NPK International shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 74.8% of DXP Enterprises shares are owned by institutional investors. 4.2% of NPK International shares are owned by company insiders. Comparatively, 22.0% of DXP Enterprises shares are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, large money managers and hedge funds believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Profitability

This table compares NPK International and DXP Enterprises’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
NPK International	14.19%	11.31%	9.24%
DXP Enterprises	4.35%	18.51%	5.70%

Analyst Ratings

This is a summary of current recommendations for NPK International and DXP Enterprises, as reported by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
NPK International	0	1	2	0	2.67
DXP Enterprises	0	2	2	0	2.50

NPK International currently has a consensus target price of $18.00, indicating a potential upside of 52.84%. DXP Enterprises has a consensus target price of $187.00, indicating a potential downside of 2.65%. Given NPK International’s stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, equities analysts clearly believe NPK International is more favorable than DXP Enterprises.

Risk and Volatility

NPK International has a beta of 1.3, indicating that its stock price is 30% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, DXP Enterprises has a beta of 1.02, indicating that its stock price is 2% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Valuation & Earnings

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

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
NPK International	$277.04 million	3.61	$38.94 million	$0.50	23.55
DXP Enterprises	$2.02 billion	1.48	$88.68 million	$5.68	33.82

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

Summary

NPK International beats DXP Enterprises on 7 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 DXP Enterprises

DXP Enterprises, Inc., together with its subsidiaries, engages in distributing maintenance, repair, and operating (MRO) products, equipment, and services in the United States and Canada. It operates through three segments: Service Centers (SC), Supply Chain Services (SCS), and Innovative Pumping Solutions (IPS). The SC segment offers MRO products, equipment, and integrated services, including technical expertise and logistics services. It offers a range of MRO products in the rotating equipment, bearing, power transmission, hose, fluid power, metal working, fastener, industrial supply, safety products, and safety services categories. This segment serves customers in the oil and gas, food and beverage, petrochemical, transportation, other general industrial, mining, construction, chemical, municipal, agriculture, and pulp and paper industries. The SCS segment manages procurement and inventory vinventory optimization and management, storeroom management, transaction consolidation and control, vendor oversight and procurement cost optimization, productivity improvement, and customized reporting services. Its programs include SmartAgreement, a procurement solution for various MRO categories; SmartBuy, an on-site or centralized MRO procurement solution; SmartSource, an on-site procurement and storeroom management solution; SmartStore, an e-Catalog solution; SmartVend, an industrial dispensing solution; and SmartServ, an integrated service pump solution. The IPS segment fabricates and assembles custom-made pump packages; remanufactures pumps; and manufactures branded private label pumps. DXP Enterprises, Inc. was founded in 1908 and is based in Houston, Texas.