Out Fox The $treet

Maybe  Schlumberger's  ( NYSE: SLB     )  announcement that it was increasing its long-term growth rates was a sign that the oilfield services sector was about to consolidate to exploit improving industrywide growth rates. In this case, C&J Energy Services ( NYSE: CJES     ) is purchasing the completion and production services of Nabors Industries ( NYSE: NBR     ). The Nabors division is actually roughly double the size of C&J Energy in nearly all key metrics. Making the deal even more interesting, Nabors will accept a sizable position in the new combined entity instead of completely cashing out. Typically when a business accepts a lot of stock in such a deal it views the combination as having plenty of synergies that will create value and make the company more valuable. Read the full article here . Disclosure: Long CJES. Please review the disclaimer page for more details. 

For investors who only read the earnings headlines, a ton of additional information can usually be gleaned by reading the details of the earnings report and comparing to competitors. For investors interested in the domestic land-drilling market, Helmerich & Payne ( NYSE: HP     ) happens to be one of the better providers of useful numbers. The driller had some encouraging signs on new rig orders and increasing rig revenue per day, but the numbers show more stability than growth. As with Patterson-UTI Energy ( NASDAQ: PTEN     ) and Nabors Industries ( NYSE: NBR     ) , the troubling sign continues to be that customers want the new rigs at the expense of idled rigs. Read the full article here . Disclosure: No positions mentioned. Please review the disclaimer page for more details. 

With the gains in drilling-rig efficiency limiting demand, are the glory days over for Helmerich & Payne ( NYSE: HP     ) ? According to this WSJ article , the company and the CEO are credited with developing the next-generation drilling rigs used to create the U.S. energy boom. With oil above $100, one would expect a driller to trade well. The domestic land-drilling market, however, has faced lower drilling-rig demand due to plunging natural gas prices and more importantly the dramatically improved efficiencies gained in the last couple of years. The stock is sitting close to all-time highs. Now investors must analyze whether future natural gas export demand and possible demand from Mexico can offset a weak domestic climate. Read the full article here . Disclosure: No position mentioned. Please review the disclaimer page for more details. 

Prior to June 5, Helmerich & Payne (NYSE: HP ) was seen as a solidly run contract drilling firm with a small dividend. The company made a surprising announcement that it would dramatically increase the yield making the stock interesting for the yield now. Or maybe it wasn’t that surprising considering the expected influx of cash and a strong balance sheet. The company operates primarily as a contract drilling firm with more » Disclosure: No positions mentioned. Please review the disclaimer page for more details.