Pride International Inc. (PDE) completed the spin-off of Seahawk Drilling Inc. – a former subsidiary of Pride that owns 20 mat-supported jackup rigs operating in the Gulf of Mexico (GoM) – as a stock dividend to existing shareholders. For every 15 shares of Pride, stockholders would receive one share of Seahawk, besides a cash payment for fractional shares of Seahawk. Seahawk shares will start trading today under the ticker symbol of “HAWK" on the Nasdaq. The mat-supported jackup market in the GoM has been hit hard by the sharp drop in overall activity levels due to weak natural gas prices and tight credit market conditions. Since experiencing very strong demand in the 2004–2007 period, utilization levels and dayrates have fallen steadily and currently remain at depressed levels. With this spin-off, Pride has completed its multi-year restructuring and asset repositioning program that has transformed it from ...

Sempra Energy (SRE) posted strong second-quarter results with earnings of $1.06 per share that topped the Zacks Consensus EPS estimate by 11.6% or 11 cents. This is commendable since GAAP EPS fell to eighty cents lower than the year-ago EPS of ninety-eight cents due to an asset write-off charge of twenty-six cents per share.   Sempra Energy is an energy services holding company involved in the sale, distribution, storage and transportation of natural gas. The company operates through two segments – Sempra Utilities and Sempra Global.   Quarterly Results

The Southern California-based company’s revenue, however, declined by a third year-over-year to $1.7 billion due to lower demand in the quarter. The downside came from both Sempra Utilities and Sempra Global.

This, coupled with the asset write-off from the Liberty gas storage project, brought net earnings down by 19%. However, year-ago earnings had included a $37 million gain from the Sempra Commodities

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Yesterday, Nabors Industries Ltd. (NBR) – North America's largest onshore oil and natural gas driller – reported second-quarter results. Recurring earnings per diluted share, excluding non-cash items, came in at $0.32, marginally better than our estimate of $0.31 and well above market expectations of $0.26. The Bermuda-based company’s outperformance was driven by strengthened margins associated with new rig deployments in its international operations and solid results from the Alaska sub-segment.  However, on a year-over-year basis, Nabors’ adjusted earnings per share declined 46.7% (from $0.60 to $0.32) due to weakness in its North American gas-centric businesses combined with less robust international results, particularly in Latin America. Revenue was down 32.6% to $878 million as sales declined in almost all of the company’s segments.  Nabors’ main operating segment is ‘Contract Drilling’, which accounts for bulk of the company’s revenues and operating earnings. Its operations are spread across 6 ...

Houston, Texas-based Halliburton Company (HAL), one of the largest oilfield service providers in the world, has bagged a two-year contract extension from StatoilHydro (STO). The estimated value of the contract extension is approximately $450 million.   Halliburton had been awarded the first contract in 2006. The initial contract was for a two-year term with further extension options of three two-year periods.   Under the terms of the extended contract, Halliburton will provide fluids systems for multiple fields on the Norwegian Continental Shelf. This includes cementing services for 20 rigs and completion fluids for 16 rigs.   The contract will involve services from both of Halliburton’s business segments: Completion and Production as well as Drilling and Evaluation.   Halliburton is among the top three players in each of the product/service categories it offers and is present in all the major hydrocarbon-producing regions of the world.   We view ...

With the expected spin-off of its mat-supported jackup fleet in the Gulf of Mexico in the next few months, Pride International (PDE) will become a pure-play deepwater driller. The company plans to complete the spin-off of Seahawk Drilling, the offspring's name, as a stock dividend to existing shareholders.The spin-off will complete Pride's multi-year restructuring and asset repositioning program that has transformed it from a diversified oilfield service and equipment operator to a focused deepwater driller.We believe that growing appreciation of Pride's emergence as a deepwater contractor will aid valuation by bringing its multiples inline with other deepwater operators, such as Transocean (RIG) and Diamond Offshore (DO).Pride's current fleet is comprised of 41 rigs, including 14 deepwater rigs (of which two are ultra-deepwater units) and 27 jackups. The company also has another four ultra-deepwater rigs ...

For Immediate Release

Chicago, IL - March 31, 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: Dollar Financial Corp (DLLR), Halliburton Co (HAL), Arena Pharmaceuticals (ARNA), Hittite Microwave Corp (HITT) and PetMed Express (PETS).

Get the most recent insight from Zacks Equity Research with the free Profit from the Pros newsletter: http://at.zacks.com/?id=4579.

Here are highlights from Monday's Analyst Blog:

Dollar Financial Downgraded to Hold

Dollar Financial Corp's (DLLR) 2Q09 (ended December 31, 2008) diluted earnings of $0.49 per share were 2 pennies ahead of our estimate. The company continued to deliver strong revenue growth (9.8% during the reported quarter), despite a difficult economic environment.

The Management

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For Immediate Release

Chicago, IL - March 31, 2009 - Zacks Equity Research picks Abbott Laboratories (abt) as Bull of the Day and BJ Services (BJS) as Bear of the Day. In addition, the analysts at Zacks Equity Research discuss the latest on Saks Inc (SKS), Wal-Mart Stores Inc (WMT) and LeapFrog Enterprises (LF).

Full analysis of all these stocks is available at: http://at.zacks.com/?id=2678

Bull of the Day

Abbott Laboratories (abt) discovers, develops, manufactures and sells a diversified line of healthcare products. We expect high-single digit EPS growth over the next five years driven by strong sales of Humira and the company's rapidly growing vascular business.

Several new drug applications have recently been filed with the FDA, which should accelerate sales in the pharmaceutical business.

We believe ABT possesses a low risk profile and will continue to

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Our continued Sell recommendation for BJ Services (BJS) shares reflects the weakening outlook for the North American pressure pumping market. Weak natural gas prices and continued credit market turmoil have prompted E&P players to curtail spending plans, significantly affecting the outlook for players such as BJ Services.

While the company should fare better than many of its smaller peers, given the size and scope of its operations and its strong financial health, it is nevertheless faced with pricing pressures and margin compression in the coming quarters. Zacks Investment Research

Our continued Sell recommendation for BJ Services Co. (BJS) shares reflects the weakening outlook for the North American pressure pumping market. Weak natural gas prices and continued credit market turmoil have prompted E&P players to curtail spending plans, significantly affecting the outlook for players such as BJ Services.While the company should fare better than many of its smaller peers, given the size and scope of its operations and its strong financial health, it is nevertheless faced with pricing pressures and margin compression in the coming quarters.We expect margins to remain under pressure in the coming quarters given eroding pricing power. Our unchanged $8 price objective reflects 2009 P/E and EV/EBITDA multiples of 7.1X and 3.5X, respectively, both within historical trading ranges. Read the full analyst report on "BJS"Zacks Investment Research

Houston-based BJ Services Company (BJS) provides pressure pumping and other oilfield services to oil and gas exploration and production companies all over the world. Pressure pumping comprises cementing and stimulation services used during the completion of new wells along with the restoration and repair of existing wells. The company also provides tubular services, inspections of pipe connections, and specialty chemical treatments.

We are downgrading BJ Services shares to Sell from Hold to reflect our growing concerns about the weakening outlook for the North American pressure-pumping market. Weak natural gas prices and continued credit market turmoil have prompted E&P [Exploration and Production] players to curtail spending plans, significantly affecting the outlook for players such as BJ Services.

While the company should fare better than many of its smaller peers, given the size and scope of its operations and its strong financial health, it is nevertheless faced with pricing pressures and margin compression

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