Oppenheimer Rates Atwood Oceanics Outperform Following EPS Beat

Oppenheimer maintains its Outperform rating on Atwood Oceanics ATW following its 4Q10 earnings beat. Atwood reported fiscal 4Q10 (Sep.) EPS of $0.99, above Oppenheimer's $0.91 estimate and consensus $0.92. In a note to clients, Oppenheimer writes, "The biggest drivers were higher revenue (+$0.03) and lower expenses (+$0.05). Slightly lower than anticipated contract drilling expenses were offset by higher G&A, though depreciation of $8M and a tax rate of 16.4% were below guidance of $10M and ~20%, respectively, further contributing to the EPS beat." ATW is trading at $35.84.