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 oil industry service provider Baker Hughes (BHI) jumped as much as 10.7% today after the company's earnings release.
So what: Revenue jumped 8% to $5.79 billion in the third quarter and net income rose 22% to $341 million, or $0.77 per share. After adjusting for one-time charges the company made $0.81 per share, which was $0.03 ahead of estimates, which is often the biggest driver of earnings related stock bounces.
Now what: It wasn't U.S. onshore demand that drove earnings, although growing shale drilling garners a lot of attention from investors. It was actually the Middle East and Asia that showed strong demand, even as U.S. onshore rig count dropped 9% from a year ago. The oil industry is demanding more complex technology to complete more difficult wells and that's helping drive Baker Hughes. With a forward P/E ratio of 13.6 I think the stock is a great value for a investors looking for energy exposure without the risk explorers have to take on specific wells.
