Although we don't believe in timing the market or panicking over market movements, we do like to keep an eye on big changes -- just in case they're material to our investing thesis.
What: Shares of Swift Energy (SBOW 1.26%) fell 10% today after the independent oil and natural gas company released first-quarter earnings.
So what: Earnings were solid, with revenue up 1.6% from a year ago to $148.5 million and well ahead of the $132.6 million estimate from Wall Street. On the bottom line, earnings fell 25% from a year ago to $5.4 million, or $0.12 per share, $0.02 above the Street estimate.
Now what: It appears the real disappointment comes not from poor results last quarter but from fear that growth won't hit expectations. Management has said it is looking for a joint venture partner to help accelerate drilling in its promising Eagle Ford shale play. They targeted the end of the second quarter of 2014 to have a deal complete but they're still in negotiations right now. This doesn't mean a deal won't be announced in the next two months, but investors were disappointed that it wasn't announced today because this is where they're looking for growth. Long term, I don't think this is an issue, and the company's shares could pop again if a joint venture is announced.
