Out Fox The $treet

C&J Energy Services ( NYSE: CJES     ) continues to be one of the most aggressive firms in the oil services sector. In the first quarter, the company is starting to see the benefit of aggressively building out assets during the downturn of the last couple of years. The interesting takeaways from the earnings report are a substantial increase in revenue, a rebound in income, an ongoing push to add more assets, and no mention of weather disruptions despite industrywide issues during the quarter. The growth surpasses the gains made by the oil services majors and hugely disappointing results from Key Energy Services ( NYSE: KEG     ) . Even Basic Energy Services ( NYSE: BAS     ) , which has seen a huge gain in its shares, still reported a loss for the quarter, but the oil service player is making some aggressive moves. Read the full article here . Disclosure: Long CJES. Please read th...

Last week, Basic Energy Services ( NYSE: BAS     ) announced a $50 million increase in capital spending for 2014 that shot the company's stock up 4% on the day. The news didn't have much of a ripple effect on other smaller oilfield services firms, probably due to the lack of appreciation for the scope of the increase. Most investors probably missed the company's run from only $12 back in October to the current level of $27. The quickly-changing dynamics in the domestic land-drilling sector have analysts forecasting the company earning $1.14 in 2015 after producing a large loss last year. At the same time, other oilfield services firms aren't seeing the same gains. Superior Energy Services ( NYSE: SPN     ) is up solidly from February levels, but its stock has gained nowhere near the increases of Basic Energy. Key Energy Services  ( NYSE: KEG     ) has seen its stock price pull back to levels last seen in Octob...

Despite a weak operating environment for domestic oil services, C&J Energy Services ( NYSE: CJES     ) undertook an aggressive expansion plan for 2013. That strategy culminated in several deals during the fourth quarter and further plans for 2014. The reported financials continue to disappoint due to higher costs for expansion, but the company might be set up to take advantage of suddenly sparse natural gas inventories. The domestic hydraulic fracturing specialist has spent the last couple of years expanding the business line and, surprisingly, building new equipment. Now with natural gas inventories plunging to five-year lows, C&J Energy is positioned to take advantage of a market where utilization is already firming. Read the full article here . Disclosure: Long CJES. Please review the disclaimer page for more details. 

While some continue to fret over debt issues at Nuverra Environmental ( NES ) , the company recently announced an update to an important credit facility to provide it more time to turn around operations before encountering liquidity issues. The move shouldn't be a huge surprise to investors, as creditors normally want to work with companies to provide ample time to improve numbers to acceptable levels. Not to mention, our previous article highlighted how positive operating cash flows would make it a slam-dunk for the modified covenants, if needed. The company is dedicated to the protection and enhancement of environmental solutions for the removal and disposal of restricted fluids primarily from shale drilling. It has scattered operations in most of the shale areas with a focus on the Bakken shale from the Power Fuels merger last year. Several catalysts for improving operations include the shift away from contract workers in the Marcellus shale and new management t...

The recent article against Nuverra Environmental ( NES ) used personal attacks to distract from the real results of the company. Claims that the well-respected former CEO made an acquisition to escape or that the company creates a "distorted reality" by making adjustments to financials is absurd. The company is dedicated to the protection and enhancement of environmental solutions for the removal and disposal of restricted fluids primarily from shale drilling. As environmentalists fret over the safety of the fluids used in fracking, Nuverra was suppose to benefit from the need to safely dispose of the "dangerous" fluids. Read the full article at Seeking Alpha. Disclosure: Long NES and CJES. Please review the disclaimer page for more details 

Small Cap Insight Nothing like a name change to make the market forget about a previously hot stock. Back in May, Heckmann changed its name to Nuverra Environmental Solutions ( NES ) to more accurately reflect its focus on environmental solutions in the energy sector. The stock has done nothing but plunge since the beginning of June whether due to the sector weakness or the market losing focus on the 'new' company. Either way, the stock is trading at lows not seen since the revolutionary merger that combined Heckmann with Power Fuels back in the summer of 2012. The company dedicated to the protection and enhancement of environmental solutions for the removal and disposal of restricted fluids primarily from shale drilling activities isn't exactly benefiting from the boom in production from shale. As environmentalists fret over the safety of the fluids used in fracking, Nuverra was suppose to benefit from the need to safely dispose of those 'dangerous...

After reporting earnings on Thursday morning, C&J Energy Services (CJES) fell sharply after initially jumping more than 5%. For some reason the market was disappointed with earnings that easily beat estimates and guidance of a significantly accretive acquisition. The company is an oil services firm that focuses on hydraulic fracturing, coil tubing, and wireline services primarily in the Eagle Ford Shale and Permian basin. As mentioned with the article on SodaStream (SODA) last week, the market appears fixated on certain stocks while allowing others to slide. C&J not only has the lowest multiple in the sector, but it also appears to have better operating results. Not only did the company mostly sidestep the natural gas issue by focusing on oily plays, it also has made attractive acquisitions. On top of that, it has mostly avoided the guar and sand issues that have plagued the other oil service companies. Read the full article on Seeking Alpha. Disclosure: Long CJES....

With the dramatic fall in domestic natural gas prices during 2012, the results of the domestic oilfield services firms have been increasingly scrutinized. The performances have been mixed and the results have been very location specific as expected. The stocks have all headed lower. The key is location, location, location. While the stock market has obsessed daily about the natural gas market in the US, just about every other market whether oil or natural gas around the world is very robust. This provides plenty of opportunity for the best positioned stocks that have been sold off with no regard to location. Naturally results can be relatively predicted based on a companies exposure to domestic natural gas. The less the better. Hence Baker Hughes (BHI) preannounced bad results and Basic Energy Services (BAS) reported bad numbers. On the other hand, Haliburton (HAL) and Schlumberger (SLB) had generally good results though analysts had reduced expectations. Other major players like C...

After watching a Mad Money feature on little known Key Energy Services (KEG), it got me to wondering what other oil service plays I didn't really know. Everybody has heard of the big players in the sector such as Haliburton (HAL), Schlumberger (SLB), and Baker Hughes (BHI). What about the second tier companies? Hydraulic fracturing and horizontal drilling remain all the rage, even with natural gas prices plunging to 10 year lows this year. Even with expected rigs drilling for natural gas declining, it wouldn't be surprising to see them move directly into oil shale plays as oil remains around $100. Not to mention one needs to be careful when focusing on the current price of natural gas as future prices on the NYMEX remain in the $4-5 range. Read full story on Seeking Alpha. Disclosure: Long CJES. Please review the disclaimer page for more details