NGL vs WTTR: Which Is the Better Buy in 2026?
Last updated August 2026
Short answer
NGL and WTTR are similarly sized, but NGL trades noticeably cheaper on forward earnings (21.60x vs 28.45x): the market is paying up for WTTR's profile and pricing NGL more conservatively, or for faster growth. Which you prefer comes down to the drivers you believe, and whether adding either over-concentrates what you already own.
NGL vs WTTR: the tie-breaker metrics
Same yardstick, side by side (as of August 2026). Valuation lined up like this is most meaningful for two names in the same corner of the market, which these are. Figures are approximate; verify before investing.
| Metric | NGL | WTTR | What it tells you |
|---|---|---|---|
| Market cap | $2.27B | $2.60B | Size. The larger name is the incumbent; the smaller has more room to grow and more to prove. |
| Forward P/E | 21.60 | 28.45 | Valuation on next year's expected earnings, the same yardstick for both. Lower is cheaper for that growth; higher means the market is paying up. |
| Beta | 0.65 | 0.96 | Volatility vs the market. Above 1 swings harder than the index; below 1 is steadier. Higher beta means bigger drawdowns to hold through. |
| Price vs 52-week range | 97% of range | 77% of range | Where today's price sits between the 52-week low and high. Near the high is momentum with less margin of safety; near the low is out of favor or a discount, depending on why. |
Reading it: NGL is the cheaper of the two on forward earnings, but cheaper is not the same as better. Pair the valuation with growth (how far the forward P/E sits below the trailing P/E) and risk (beta) before you decide.
Before you buy: how NGL and WTTR affect your concentration
The metrics above tell you which is the marginally better business. The bigger risk for most people is not picking the slightly worse stock, it is over-concentrating. NGL and WTTR share themes, so owning both, or adding either to what you already hold, can quietly push a large share of your portfolio into one bet.
This is the part a generic comparison page cannot answer, because it depends on what you own. Connect your brokerage and Walnut shows your real, combined NGL and WTTR exposure, flags overlap with your existing positions, and tells you if adding one would tip you past a concentration you are comfortable with, read-only by default, with your login staying at your broker. Walnut is not an investment adviser.
What does NGL Energy Partners LP (NGL) do?
NGL Energy Partners LP is a publicly traded partnership headquartered in Tulsa, Oklahoma, tracing its roots to 1940 and running with only about 449 employees. It reports three segments. Water Solutions gathers, treats, recycles and disposes of produced and flowback water generated by oil and gas drilling, operating 91 treatment and disposal facilities with 202 injection wells, most of them in the Delaware Basin of West Texas and southeastern New Mexico. Crude Oil Logistics buys crude from producers and moves it, anchored by the Grand Mesa Pipeline out of the DJ Basin. Liquids Logistics supplies natural gas liquids and related products. Following divestitures completed in April 2025, which included the refined products business and most of the wholesale propane business plus 17 terminals, the partnership is far more concentrated than it once was: water disposal supplied roughly 91% of segment EBITDA in the June 2026 quarter.
What does Select Water Solutions (WTTR) do?
Select Water Solutions, Inc. (NYSE: WTTR) provides sustainable water and chemical solutions to the energy industry across major U.S. shale basins. It runs three segments: Water Infrastructure (permanent and semi-permanent pipelines, recycling, and disposal assets under longer-term contracts), Water Services (water transfer, flowback, well testing, fluids hauling, and containment for E&P operators), and Chemical Technologies (production and completion chemistry). The company manages billions of barrels of produced water annually and positions its recycling and treatment capabilities as an answer to tightening water-sourcing and disposal constraints in basins like the Permian.
NGL vs WTTR: how do they differ?
Both fit overlapping themes, but they are not interchangeable. The useful comparison is which set of drivers and risks you want exposure to.
- NGL drivers: Permian produced-water volumes under long contracts; Raised fiscal 2027 guidance and growth spending.
- WTTR drivers: Water Infrastructure buildout; Margin expansion and mix shift.
Which fits which kind of investor
A faster-growing, richer-valued name usually swings harder, so it suits a longer horizon and a higher tolerance for volatility; a steadier, more cash-generative business suits a more conservative or income-minded investor. The honest test is which set of risks you could hold through a drawdown: Financial risk dominates here: long-term debt sits near $3.3 billion against about $5 million of cash, interest expense ran roughly $257 million in fiscal 2026, and total partners' capital is a deficit of about $237 million, meaning book equity is negative. For WTTR, wTTR's revenue is tied to U.S.
NGL or WTTR: which should you pick?
NGL vs WTTR: the full fundamentals
NGL. Because the trailing twelve months carry a net loss of roughly $132 million and book equity is negative, price-to-earnings and price-to-book are not usable for NGL, and enterprise value to EBITDA does the work instead. At an enterprise value near $6.2 billion against guided fiscal 2027 Adjusted EBITDA of about $730 million, the units trade near 8.5 times, a multiple that sits between traditional crude midstream partnerships and the higher-growth Permian water names. The wide gap between the ~$2.3 billion equity value and the ~$6.2 billion enterprise value is the point to hold onto: most of the capital structure sits ahead of the common units.
WTTR. In Q1 2026 WTTR beat estimates with ~$0.08 EPS and pushed gross margins above 30% for the first time. The trailing P/E has been reported in the 50 to 90+ range depending on the earnings metric, reflecting compressed recent net income against a stock that the market is pricing on future infrastructure growth. Valuation therefore leans heavily on EBITDA and the credibility of the raised infrastructure guidance rather than on trailing GAAP earnings.
Headline figures (approximate, August 2026): NGL shows revenue (ttm) ~$3.5B (continuing operations), adjusted ebitda ~$660M in FY2026; FY2027 guidance raised to ~$725M to ~$735M, q1 fy2027 (quarter ended june 2026) Revenue ~$990M, Adjusted EBITDA ~$186M, net income ~$79M, market cap ~$2.3B on ~124.8M common units; WTTR shows revenue (q1 2026) ~$366M, revenue (ttm) ~$1.5B, adjusted ebitda (q1 2026) ~$77.6M, net income (q1 2026) ~$9.4M.
The bottom line: NGL vs WTTR
NGL and WTTR are related but distinct: same themes, different businesses and risks. Neither wins in the abstract; the right pick is whichever thesis you actually believe, sized so you are not over-concentrated in one theme. Walnut can show your combined NGL and WTTR exposure against your real portfolio. It is not an investment adviser.
Wondering how NGL or WTTR fits the portfolio you already own? Walnut is an AI investing app that connects your brokerage read-only and answers questions like that about your actual holdings: overlap, concentration, and how each position tracks the S&P 500. Compare the best AI portfolio analyzers or see the best AI investing apps in 2026.
Investing in NGL Energy Partners LP with AI
Connect the broker you already use and ask Walnut's AI how NGL fits what you actually hold: whether you own it already through a fund, what it would do to your concentration, and how it has tracked the S&P 500. Read-only by default, and you approve anything before it reaches your broker.
FAQ
What is the difference between NGL and WTTR?
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NGL Energy Partners LP is a publicly traded partnership headquartered in Tulsa, Oklahoma, tracing its roots to 1940 and running with only about 449 employees. Select Water Solutions, Inc. They show up together because they share investment themes, but they are different businesses, so the better fit depends on which thesis you are expressing.
Is NGL or WTTR the better stock?
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Neither is universally better; they suit different views and risk levels. Walnut is informational, not investment advice. Compare what each does, the tie-breaker metrics above, and the risks, then decide which fits your thesis and what you already own.
Which is cheaper, NGL or WTTR?
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On forward P/E (as of August 2026), NGL trades at 21.60x and WTTR at 28.45x, so NGL is the cheaper of the two on next year's expected earnings. A lower multiple is not automatically the better buy: a richer valuation can be justified by faster growth, and a lower one can reflect real risk. Weigh the multiple against how fast each business is compounding.
Should you own both NGL and WTTR?
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Because they share themes, owning both concentrates you in that theme. That can be intentional (a focused bet) or accidental (less diversification than it looks). Walnut can show your combined exposure across both, and whether adding either over-concentrates you, before you buy.
What are the risks of NGL vs WTTR?
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NGL: Financial risk dominates here: long-term debt sits near $3.3 billion against about $5 million of cash, interest expense ran roughly $257 million in fiscal 2026, and total partners' capital is a deficit of about $237 million, meaning book equity is negative. Class B, Class C and Class D preferred units all rank ahead of the common units for distributions and liquidation proceeds, and no common distribution can be declared until preferred obligations are current. Fiscal 2026 closed with a net loss attributable to NGL of about $142 million, driven largely by a $256 million loss on disposal and impairment of assets concentrated in Crude Oil Logistics, and the trailing twelve months still show a net loss near $132 million. Operationally, disposal volumes depend on customer drilling activity and crude prices, while injection wells face induced-seismicity scrutiny: on July 29, 2026, TOG Operating and Titus Oil & Gas III sued NGL and two Water Solutions subsidiaries in Reeves County, Texas, alleging that saltwater disposal flooded Titus's mineral estate, and filed a parallel complaint asking the Railroad Commission of Texas to terminate or suspend certain injection permits. NGL denies the allegations, no discovery has occurred and no accrual has been recorded, but an adverse permitting outcome in the Delaware Basin would strike the segment that now carries the partnership. Units have also risen roughly fourfold from their 52-week low, so expectations embedded in the price are considerably higher than they were a year ago. WTTR: WTTR's revenue is tied to U.S. oil and gas drilling and completion activity, which swings with commodity prices, so a downturn in the Permian or broader shale spending would pressure the services and chemicals segments. The stock trades at a high trailing earnings multiple, meaning results that fall short of the infrastructure growth narrative could compress the valuation. The infrastructure buildout requires ongoing capital and acquisition integration, which carries execution and balance-sheet risk. Concentration in a handful of shale basins and among large E&P customers adds counterparty and geographic exposure. Water-disposal regulation is a tailwind for recycling but can also raise operating costs and complexity.
Walnut is informational, not investment advice. This page is descriptive and not a recommendation to buy or sell NGL or WTTR; figures are approximate and dated (as of August 2026). Verify current data before investing.