Topic: How To Invest

Dear Pat: A company that would seem to be moving in the right direction is oil-service firm Aveda. Perhaps I can have your input regarding this prospect?

Article Excerpt

Aveda Transportation and Energy Services Inc., $4.05, symbol AVE on Toronto (Shares outstanding: 19.9 million; Market cap: $80.6 million; www.avedaenergy.com), provides transportation services to oil and gas producers in Western Canada and the U.S., mainly in Texas, Pennsylvania, West Virginia and North Dakota. The U.S. supplies around 75% of the company’s revenue. Aveda’s trucks haul drilling rigs, storage tanks, pipeline components, temporary structures and other equipment. It also rents related gear, such as power generators and light towers. In January 2014, Aveda paid $51.4 million for North Dakota-based M&K Hotshot & Trucking, Inc. and M&K Rig Service, Inc. These businesses own 79 trailers, 15 transport trucks, 14 winch trucks and three cranes, along with 395 pieces of rental equipment. The purchase expanded Aveda’s presence in the fast-growing Bakken shale oil and gas region. It will also let it redeploy underused equipment from Western Canada to the U.S. Aveda also recently paid $24.0 million U.S. for Precision Drilling’s (symbol PD on Toronto) U.S.-based rig-moving assets. The…