Out Fox The $treet

Baker Hughes reported highly confusing Q1 results. The oilfield services company remains constrained by the pending merger with Halliburton. The solid balance sheet and termination fee will ultimately make the stock a very strong buy. Due to the lingering and possibly failed merger with  Halliburton (NYSE: HAL ) ,  Baker Hughes (NYSE: BHI )  is a jumbled mess.  Q1 results confirmed this position, but the stock rallied anyway following the bad news. Read the full article on Seeking Alpha.  Disclosure: Long HAL. Please review the disclaimer page for more details.

Summary Shareholder approved the merger of Halliburton and Baker Hughes. Halliburton is moving forward with asset sales suggesting the U.S Justice Department is working towards a positive solution. The new Halliburton still trades at an attractive valuation providing potential alpha for the sector with the ultimate return based on oil prices. The recent shareholder approvals by Halliburton (NYSE: HAL ) and Baker Hughes (NYSE: BHI ) place the megadeal one step closer to completion. The current oil market weakness causing the onshore drilling rig count reductions continue to hide the shareholder benefits of this merger. Not to mention, the current downturn is allowing both firms to cut costs that could improve margins during the next market boom. Read the full article on Seeking Alpha. Disclosure: Long HIG. Please review the disclaimer page for more details. 

After constantly hearing about the severe weather disruptions for the energy sector in North America, Baker Hughes ( NYSE: BHI     ) reported one of the strongest quarters in recent history. Even more surprising to investors not following the oil services industry is that the stock surged to highs not seen since the summer of 2011 on the bullish news. Baker Hughes is a global leader in supplying oilfield services, products, technology, and systems to the oil and natural gas industry. Though the company has a substantial global business approaching $24 billion, it pales in comparison to Schlumberger ( NYSE: SLB     ) , which reported first-quarter earnings on the same day. Schlumberger has a massive oilfield services business expected to reach annual sales of nearly $50 billion this year. Read the full article here . Disclosure: No positions mentioned. Please review the disclaimer page for more details.