Oil & Gas - Energy - Commodities - Resources (OILBRENT)

[Timothy Smith]

$HAL $ SLB $WFT $BHI - Susquehanna analysts suspect that international oil exploration will be even weaker than expected, prompting them to reduce estimates for oil services companies Halliburton (NYSE:HAL), Schlumberger (NYSE:SLB), Weatherford International (NYSE:WFT) and Baker Hughes (NYSE:BHI).

The firm expects activity levels to steadily drift lower in 2016, as national oil companies and international companies slow spending in order to manage cash flows; NOCs generally operate on annual budgets that are not typically subject to much revision, so the larger international operators will be looking for a sustained move higher in oil prices before ramping up spending and activity levels, Susquehanna says.

The firm's 2016 EPS forecast for SLB slips to $2.50 from $2.78, for WFT falls to a loss of $0.60 from a loss of $0.51, for BHI to a loss of $0.17 from a loss of $0.16, and for HAL to $1.16 from $1.17.