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Ensco (ESV) to Report Q4 Earnings: What's in the Cards?
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Ensco plc , a leading supplier of offshore contract drilling services to the oil and gas industry, is expected to report fourth-quarter 2016 earnings on Feb 28.
In the last quarter, the company’s earnings of 25 cents per share surpassed the Zacks Consensus Estimate of 13 cents. The figure, however, decreased from 89 cents per share recorded in the year-earlier quarter.
Ensco has a good earnings history. The company beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate in three of the trailing four quarters.
Let’s see how things are shaping up prior to the announcement.
Factors Likely to Influence this Quarter
With less oil being discovered on land, companies now have to dig even deeper for reserves. We believe that Ensco, with its technologically advanced and versatile drilling fleet, is poised to benefit from a market with robust multi-year demand trends. We expect this factor to have a positive impact on the upcoming earnings as well.
Ensco’s impressive balance sheet and sufficient liquidity should continue to help it address operational or corporate needs. At the end of the third quarter, Ensco had over $465.4 million in cash and cash equivalents, while long-term debt-to-capitalization ratio was a very manageable 36.9%.
However, the persistent crude price weakness has compelled top energy companies to resort to spending cuts (particularly on the costly upstream projects) due to lower profit margins. This, in turn, means less work for drilling contractors like Ensco. This is likely to result in the company witnessing increased downtime for full-year 2016.
Earnings Whispers
Our proven model does not conclusively show that Ensco is likely to beat earnings this quarter. That is because a stock needs to have both a positive Earnings ESP and a Zacks Rank of #1 (Strong Buy), 2 (Buy) or 3 (Hold) for this to happen. That is not the case here, as you will see below.
Zacks ESP: Earnings ESP, which represents the difference between the Most Accurate estimate and the Zacks Consensus Estimate, is currently pegged at -25.00%. The Most Accurate estimate is pegged at 3 cents and the Zacks Consensus Estimate for Ensco stands at 4 cents. You can uncover the best stocks to buy or sell before they are reported with our Earnings ESP Filter.
Zacks Rank: Ensco carries a Zacks Rank #3. Though a favorable Zacks Rank increases the predictive power of ESP, the company’s negative Earnings ESP makes surprise prediction difficult.
We caution against Sell-rated stocks (Zacks Rank #4 or 5) going into the earnings announcement, especially when the company is seeing negative estimate revisions.
Stocks to Consider
Here are some companies in the energy sector that investors may consider, as our model shows that they have the right combination of elements to beat estimates this quarter:
Northern Oil and Gas, Inc. (NOG - Free Report) has an Earnings ESP of +25.00% and a Zacks Rank #2. It is expected to release earnings results on Mar 1.
W&T Offshore, Inc. (WTI - Free Report) has an Earnings ESP of +66.67% and a Zacks Rank #2. The company is expected to release earnings results on Mar 1.
Zacks' Top 10 Stocks for 2017
In addition to the stocks discussed above, would you like to know about our 10 finest buy-and-hold tickers for the entirety of 2017?
Who wouldn't? Last year's market-beating Top 10 portfolio produced 5 double-digit winners. For example, oil and natural gas giant Pioneer Natural Resources and First Republic Bank racked up stellar gains of +44.9% and +44.3% respectively. Now a brand-new list for 2017 has been hand-picked from 4,400 companies covered by the Zacks Rank. See the 2017 Top 10 right now>>
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Ensco (ESV) to Report Q4 Earnings: What's in the Cards?
Ensco plc , a leading supplier of offshore contract drilling services to the oil and gas industry, is expected to report fourth-quarter 2016 earnings on Feb 28.
In the last quarter, the company’s earnings of 25 cents per share surpassed the Zacks Consensus Estimate of 13 cents. The figure, however, decreased from 89 cents per share recorded in the year-earlier quarter.
Ensco has a good earnings history. The company beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate in three of the trailing four quarters.
ENSCO PLC Price and EPS Surprise
ENSCO PLC Price and EPS Surprise | ENSCO PLC Quote
Let’s see how things are shaping up prior to the announcement.
Factors Likely to Influence this Quarter
With less oil being discovered on land, companies now have to dig even deeper for reserves. We believe that Ensco, with its technologically advanced and versatile drilling fleet, is poised to benefit from a market with robust multi-year demand trends. We expect this factor to have a positive impact on the upcoming earnings as well.
Ensco’s impressive balance sheet and sufficient liquidity should continue to help it address operational or corporate needs. At the end of the third quarter, Ensco had over $465.4 million in cash and cash equivalents, while long-term debt-to-capitalization ratio was a very manageable 36.9%.
However, the persistent crude price weakness has compelled top energy companies to resort to spending cuts (particularly on the costly upstream projects) due to lower profit margins. This, in turn, means less work for drilling contractors like Ensco. This is likely to result in the company witnessing increased downtime for full-year 2016.
Earnings Whispers
Our proven model does not conclusively show that Ensco is likely to beat earnings this quarter. That is because a stock needs to have both a positive Earnings ESP and a Zacks Rank of #1 (Strong Buy), 2 (Buy) or 3 (Hold) for this to happen. That is not the case here, as you will see below.
Zacks ESP: Earnings ESP, which represents the difference between the Most Accurate estimate and the Zacks Consensus Estimate, is currently pegged at -25.00%. The Most Accurate estimate is pegged at 3 cents and the Zacks Consensus Estimate for Ensco stands at 4 cents. You can uncover the best stocks to buy or sell before they are reported with our Earnings ESP Filter.
Zacks Rank: Ensco carries a Zacks Rank #3. Though a favorable Zacks Rank increases the predictive power of ESP, the company’s negative Earnings ESP makes surprise prediction difficult.
We caution against Sell-rated stocks (Zacks Rank #4 or 5) going into the earnings announcement, especially when the company is seeing negative estimate revisions.
Stocks to Consider
Here are some companies in the energy sector that investors may consider, as our model shows that they have the right combination of elements to beat estimates this quarter:
Sunrun Inc. (RUN - Free Report) , which is expected to release fourth-quarter earnings results on Mar 8, has an Earnings ESP of +244.44% and a Zacks Rank #1. You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.
Northern Oil and Gas, Inc. (NOG - Free Report) has an Earnings ESP of +25.00% and a Zacks Rank #2. It is expected to release earnings results on Mar 1.
W&T Offshore, Inc. (WTI - Free Report) has an Earnings ESP of +66.67% and a Zacks Rank #2. The company is expected to release earnings results on Mar 1.
Zacks' Top 10 Stocks for 2017
In addition to the stocks discussed above, would you like to know about our 10 finest buy-and-hold tickers for the entirety of 2017?
Who wouldn't? Last year's market-beating Top 10 portfolio produced 5 double-digit winners. For example, oil and natural gas giant Pioneer Natural Resources and First Republic Bank racked up stellar gains of +44.9% and +44.3% respectively. Now a brand-new list for 2017 has been hand-picked from 4,400 companies covered by the Zacks Rank. See the 2017 Top 10 right now>>