5-Star Stocks Poised to Pop: Ensco

Recs

5

Disney Buys Marvel!

David Gardner called it. He’s up 1,334%! See what David’s recommending that you buy NEXT.

Based on the aggregated intelligence of 140,000-plus investors participating in Motley Fool CAPS, the Fool's free investing community, contract driller Ensco International (NYSE: ESV) has earned a coveted five-star ranking.

With that in mind, let's take a closer look at Ensco's business and see what CAPS investors are saying about the stock right now.

Ensco facts

Headquarters (Founded)

Dallas (1975)

Market Cap

$6.76 billion

Industry

Oil and gas drilling

Trailing-12-Month Revenue

$2.11 billion

Management

CEO Daniel Rabun (since 2007)
CFO James Swent, III (since 2003)

Return on Equity (Average, Past 3 Years)

24.7%

Cash / Debt

$1.02 billion / $283 million

Competitors

Transocean (NYSE: RIG)
Nabors Industries (NYSE: NBR)

CAPS Members Bullish on ESV Also Bullish on

Noble (NYSE: NE)
Vale (NYSE: VALE)

CAPS Members Bearish on ESV Also Bearish on

Diamond Offshore (NYSE: DO)
Select Comfort (Nasdaq: SCSS)

Sources: Capital IQ (a division of Standard & Poor's) and Motley Fool CAPS.

On CAPS, 98% of the 1,013 members who have rated Ensco believe the stock will outperform the S&P 500 going forward. These bulls include All-Stars greenwave3 and JakilaTheHun, both of whom are ranked in the top 3% of our community.

Just last month, greenwave3 singled out Ensco as a fundamentally solid find: "Good cash flows, solid balance sheet with huge cash cushion; excellent [price-to-sales] and [price-to-book] ratios relative to profit margin and return on equity, respectively."

In an earlier pitch, JakilaTheHun also helped Fools to drill into the stock:

What makes [Ensco] look particularly enticing is their low debt, great history of profitability, and position in an industry with strong growth potential. ... Operating cash flows have been very impressive, normally exceeding earnings. Free cash flows (FCF) are not quite as plentiful since Ensco continues to expand its operations; however, [Ensco] has managed to stay FCF-positive throughout most of the past five years.

Maybe the market is still somewhat sour on oil, but given the high dependence on oil in the US, and increasing dependence in China and India, I still believe offshore oil related services are a winner in the long-term.

What do you think about Ensco, or any other stock for that matter? Make your voice heard on Motley Fool CAPS today. The CAPS community is waiting to hear your opinions. CAPS is 100% free, so get started!

“The Death of the Euro!”…Greece may seem worlds away, but be warned. What happens there next could reshape global finance and rattle your portfolio. On Mar. 22, The Motley Fool’s Tim Hanson heads to Greece to get the story. Follow in real time and hear how best to profit from this historic development (Hanson returned from China in July with a stock that’s up 117%!). Enter email below.

Fool contributor Brian Pacampara owns no position in any of the companies mentioned. The Fool's disclosure policy always gets a perfect score.

Comments from our Foolish Readers

Help us keep this a respectfully Foolish area! This is a place for our readers to discuss, debate, and learn more about the Foolish investing topic you read about above. Help us keep it clean and safe. If you believe a comment is abusive or otherwise violates our Fool's Rules, please report it via the Report this Comment Report this Comment icon found on every comment.

Be the first one to comment on this article.

Compare Brokers

TD AMERITRADE
more info
ShareBuilder
more info
Power E*Trade

more info
Scottrade
more info
Fool Disclosure

DocumentId: 1045435, ~/Articles/ArticleHandler.aspx, 3/20/2010 7:37:41 PM

Report This Comment

Use this area to report a comment that you believe is in violation of the community guidelines. Our team will review the entry and take any appropriate action.

Sending report...

Today's Market

updated 22 hours ago Sponsored by:
DOW 10,741.98 -37.19 -0.35%
S&P 500 1,159.90 -5.92 -0.51%
NASD 2,374.41 -16.87 -0.71%

Related Tickers

3/19/2010 4:02 PM
NE $41.32 Down -1.09 -2.57%
Noble Corp CAPS Rating: *****
SCSS $6.86 Down -0.89 -11.48%
Select Comfort Cor… CAPS Rating: **
RIG $81.84 Down -1.83 -2.19%
Transocean, Inc. CAPS Rating: *****
ESV $43.29 Down -1.74 -3.86%
ENSCO Internationa… CAPS Rating: *****
DO $84.41 Down -0.66 -0.78%
Diamond Offshore D… CAPS Rating: ****
NBR $19.88 Down -0.75 -3.64%
Nabors Industries… CAPS Rating: ****

Community: Investing Wiki

Term Of The Hour

Home equity loan: A home equity loan or "home equity line of credit" (HELOC) is a loan backed by the equity accumulated in the value of your home.

Want to learn more or edit this definition?
Click here to read more!