Basic Energy Services Inc. (fka BASXQ)

[Timothy Smith]

Looking attractive here around $10. Interesting excerpt I pulled from back in April.

This company reported earnings last week after providing an update the week prior. Results were generally disappointing sending the stock down though its unclear why investors weren't prepared for weak results. Not only had the company missed earnings most of 2011, but Baker Hughes provided plenty of warnings.

The company still reported solid profits of nearly $20M and only slightly down from Q411. The disappointing part is that revenue actually rose 5% sequentially so the biggest culprit was rising costs.

Profit margins were hurt by rising labor costs and several non-recurring items though management expects lower pricing going forward to eat away any benefits from the reduction of one time expenses.

Basic saw similar issues with the Pressure Pumping product line and hence has substantially lowered capital spending for 2012. The new program calls for spending $175M to $200M from the announced plan of $250M.

Unlike Baker Hughes, the stock hasn't plunged to new lows. It hit double bottom from late September 2011 providing some support for a bottoming process.