Complete Production Services (CPX) - Zacks #1 Rank Top Performers

The market may not have done very much in Wednesday's session, but Complete Production Services, Inc. (CPX) ended the day as a top-performing Zacks #1 Rank company with shares that gained approximately 6.76%.

Volume surpassed 2.38 million shares today, compared to the daily average of around 1.725 million. CPX has been hitting fresh 52-week highs all week.

The company's third-quarter report from late last month included earnings per share that easily surpassed both the year-ago performance and the Zacks Consensus Estimate. Revenue moved sharply higher on a sequential and year-over-year basis as well. CPX continues to enjoy a longer-term "Outperform" recommendation.

Analysts were unanimous in the approval of the quarter, sending shares sharply higher in the past 30 days. And CPX isn't one of those companies with only 2 or 3 analysts; there are 12 total estimates for 2010 and 2011 each.

Complete Production Services is a leading oilfield service provider focused on the completion and production phases of oil and gas wells. It has established a significant presence in unconventional oil and gas plays in North America that it believes have the highest potential for long-term growth.

As of right now, it is the only company on the Zacks #1 Rank List from the oil & gas – drilling industry.

Earnings Estimates for Complete Production Services

The Zacks Consensus Estimate for 2010 is at $1.11 per share, which marks a 32% improvement in the past 30 days. In addition to the 12 higher estimates, there has also been an upward revision in the past 7 days, but it didn't move the overall consensus.

For 2011, the Zacks Consensus Estimate is $2.42 per share, which suggests a year-over-year surge in profit of 118%. This guidance is up about 57% in the past month. There has also been an upward revision in the past 7 days for next year, but this time it actually moved the consensus higher by a nickel.

Analysts currently see 52 cents per share for fourth quarter, up 44% in a month as all 12 estimates again participated with upward revisions. There has been a penny improvement in the past week as well.

Third-Quarter Report

Complete Production Services had a hard time living up to quarterly profit expectations at the end of 2008 and in the beginning of 2009, but since then it has put together 5 straight surprises.

Most recently, it announced earnings per share of 42 cents for the third quarter, which easily surpassed the Zacks Consensus Estimate by more than 35%. The result also reversed a deep loss from a year earlier.

Revenue came in at $418.6 million, which was up 16% sequentially and 82% from last year.

"We continue to pursue attractive growth opportunities that are the result of our proven expertise in executing horizontal completions and our customers' need for quality service providers as they expand in oil and liquid-rich resource plays," said Chairman/CEO Joe Winkler. "We believe the service intensive oil and liquid-rich basins provide our customers opportunities for enhanced returns, which should result in robust activity levels."

 
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