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 energy service provider Newpark Resources (NR 0.28%) jumped 17% today after the company released earnings.
So what: Revenue was up 7.7%, to $283 million in the first quarter, and net income jumped 11.1%, to $17.4 million, or $0.18 per share. Analysts only expected $278 million in revenue, and earnings of $0.17 per share, and the slight beat was enough to send shares higher. It didn't hurt that the report was accompanied by a $50 million share repurchase plan, which indicates that management is bullish on the company's long-term future.
Now what: Drilling rigs are down in the U.S., so many service providers are showing negative results in the first quarter. Newpark was able to buck the trend with its fluids systems and engineering business, which saw a 13% increase in first quarter revenue. I think there's more growth in the future as overall drilling activity picks up, and an 11.3 forward P/E ratio is a good buying opportunity for investors.
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