Contract drilling services provider Helmerich & Payne, Inc. (HP) reported solid fourth quarter results, buoyed by improving rig counts on the back of rebounding commodity prices. Earnings per share, excluding gains from non-operating items, came in at 47 cents, marginally better than the Zacks Consensus Estimate of 44 cents.   However, as has been the case with the other contract drillers that have already reported – Patterson-UTI Inc. (PTEN) and Nabors Industries (NBR) – earnings and revenue comparisons with the year-earlier period were quite ugly, severely hampered by lower rig utilization (especially in the U.S. land drilling market) amid weak demand for drilling services. Helmerich & Payne’s adjusted earnings per share slumped approximately 58.4%, while revenues declined 38.0% to $362.2 million.   U.S. Land Operations During the quarter, operating revenues totaled $269.1 million (74% of total revenue), down 38.5% year-over-year. Average rig revenue per operating day ...

For Immediate Release

Chicago, IL – November 9, 2009 – Zacks.com announces the list of stocks featured in the Analyst Blog. Every day the Zacks Equity Research analysts discuss the latest news and events impacting stocks and the financial markets. Stocks recently featured in the blog include: Avnet, Inc. (AVT), Arrow Electronics (ARW), VeriSign, Inc. (VRSN), Patterson-UTI Inc. (PTEN) and Nabors Industries (NBR).

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Here are highlights from Friday’s Analyst Blog:

Avnet Tops Estimates

Avnet, Inc. (AVT) recently reported revenues of $4.36 billion for the first quarter of fiscal 2010, down 3.1% from a year ago. Excluding the negative impact of foreign currency exchange rates, revenues declined 0.6%.

Management stated that the impact of global slowdown led to

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Patterson-UTI Inc. (PTEN) reported a narrower-than-expected third-quarter loss of 12 cents per share, reflecting a recovery in rig demand as customers prepare for ramped up drilling activities in 2010. The Zacks Consensus Estimate was pegged at a loss of 16 cents per share.  In the year-ago period, the company earned 69 cents per share. Revenue was down 71.1% year over year to $176.2 million. The negative comparisons compared to the year-ago period reflect lower drilling activity. The number of rigs operating during the quarter averaged 73 (70 located in the U.S. and 3 in Canada), compared to 276 average rigs operating in the third quarter of 2008. However, it was up from 63 rigs operating in the June quarter.  Contract Drilling  Contract Drilling revenue totaled $112.3 million (64% of total revenue), down approximately 77.5% year-over-year. Average revenue per operating day was $16,800, down 5.5% sequentially, while ...

  In its weekly release on Friday, Baker Hughes Inc. (BHI) reported a slight dip in the number of rigs searching for oil and gas in the U.S., as producers restricted their drilling activities in response to the current supply overhang in the natural gas market. The number of units exploring and producing in the U.S. fell to 1,040 for the week ended October 16 (as clear from the first chart below from Baker Hughes). This is down by 1 from the previous week’s tally and is the first decline in 5 weeks. The combined oil and gas rig count is down by 936 from the year-ago period. It rose to a 22-year high in 2008, peaking at 2,031 in the weeks ended August 29 and September 12. The number of natural gas rigs drilling in the U.S. decreased by 5 to ...

  Last Thursday, we received a mildly bearish report from the federal government’s Energy Information Administration (EIA), showing a higher-than-expected rise in natural gas supplies. Stockpiles held in underground storage in the lower 48 states rose by 58 billion cubic feet (Bcf) for the week ended October 9. This takes the current storage level to a new all-time high of 3.72 trillion cubic feet (Tcf), which is up 13.8% from last year's level and 14.6% above the five-year range (as clear from the nearby chart from the EIA). Current stocks are 450 Bcf above last year’s level and 474 Bcf above the five-year average. The inventory addition was lower than the five-year-average injection of 64 Bcf and last year's build of 81 Bcf. The relentless increase in gas storage levels has meant that with three weeks remaining in the storage injection season, stockpiles ...

According to data from Baker Hughes Inc. (BHI), the number of rigs searching for oil and gas in the U.S. rose for the week ended Oct. 9, reflecting ramped up drilling activity by the producers amid recent optimism about commodity price recovery. As shown in the first chart below from Baker Hughes, rigs exploring and producing in the U.S. totaled 1,041 during the week. This is up by 17 from the previous week’s tally and is 19% higher from the 2009 low of 876 (set in the week ended June 12). The combined oil and gas rig count is down by 949 from the year-ago period. It rose to a 22-year high in 2008, peaking at 2,031 in the weeks ended Aug. 29 and Sept. 12. The number of natural gas rigs drilling in the U.S. increased by 14 to 726, ...

In its weekly release yesterday, the Energy Information Administration (EIA) reported a bigger-than-expected 69 billion cubic feet (Bcf) addition to natural gas stockpiles for the week ended October 2. This takes the current storage level to a new record high of 3.66 trillion cubic feet (Tcf), which is up 14.9% from last year's level and 15.1% above the five-year range (as clear from the nearby chart from the EIA). Current stocks are 473 Bcf above last year’s level and 480 Bcf above the five-year average. The inventory addition was lower than the five-year-average injection of 70 Bcf and last year's build of 87 Bcf.     The relentless increase in gas storage levels has meant that with four weeks remaining in the storage injection season, stockpiles are already 94% full. At this pace, by October 31, which is the end of the injection season, ...

Yesterday, one of the largest onshore contract drillers in the U.S., Patterson-UTI Energy Inc. (PTEN), declared its Sep 2009 drill rig count to average 81, up from 72 in the previous month. The company operated 77 rigs in the U.S. and 4 in Canada in September, compared to 69 rigs in the U.S. and 3 rigs in Canada during August.  Patterson’s activity levels in the U.S. peaked in early Oct 2008, with a rig count of 275. Since then, the company has been witnessing a steep and rapid decline on the back of decreased demand largely caused by lower commodity prices for natural gas.  Favorable prices over the last few years led to increased natural gas drilling, with the total onshore rig count scoring an all-time high in 2008. As a result, after remaining essentially flat for almost 9 years (1998−2006), natural gas production went up ...

Yesterday, we received a mildly positive report from the federal government’s Energy Information Administration (EIA), showing a less-than-expected rise in natural gas supplies. Stockpiles held in underground storage in the lower 48 states rose by 66 billion cubic feet (Bcf) for the week ended September 11. This takes the current storage level to 3.46 trillion cubic feet (Tcf), which is up 16.7% from last year's level and 16.4% above the five-year range (as clear from the nearby chart from the EIA). Current stocks are 496 Bcf above last year’s level and 487 Bcf above the five-year average. The inventory addition was lower than the five-year-average injection of 82 Bcf but slightly exceeded last year's build of 65 Bcf.     Overall, the relentless increase in gas storage levels continue to add to the long list of issues weighing on the commodity. At this pace, ...

After surging to almost one-year highs Wednesday, stocks took a step back as worries that the recent rally has gone too far, too fast resurfaced.  Investors pulled out profits even as latest round of upbeat economic data tried to convince them that a recovery is indeed underway.  Shares of companies that have led the recent advance failed to find favor amid a lackluster trading session.  Although the retreat was modest, it signaled a growing belief that the rally is overextended.

The Dow Jones industrial average declined 7.79 points, or 0.08%, to end the day at 9,783.92. The broad Standard & Poor's 500 Index retreated 3.27 points, or 0.31%, at 1,065.49 and the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite Index eased 6.40 points, or 0.30%, to end at 2,126.75.  On the New York Stock Exchange, declining shares beat those that advanced by eight to seven on volume of 1.52 billion shares.  At Wednesday's

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