Topic: How To Invest

Hi Pat: Would you give me your opinion on Trican Well Service? Thank you.

Article Excerpt

Trican Well Service, $5.33, symbol TCW on Toronto (Shares outstanding: 149.7 million; Market cap: $827.3 million; www.trican.ca), sells products, equipment and services for exploring and developing oil and gas reserves. Its offerings include hydraulic fracturing and cementing, as well as tools for working in a well or borehole. The Calgary-based company operates in Canada, the U.S., Russia, Kazakhstan, Algeria, Australia, Saudi Arabia, Colombia and Norway. In the three months ended September 30, 2014, Trican’s revenue rose 40.5%, to $770.6 million from $548.3 million a year earlier. Earnings per share jumped to $0.29 from $0.07. Higher fracturing demand in Canada was a major reason for the gains. Trican holds cash of $93.8 million, or $0.63 a share. The company’s $773.5 million of long-term debt is a very high 95% of its $827.3-million market cap—but that’s partly because its market cap has dropped along with those of most drilling stocks. The company will likely keep reporting positive cash flow, despite falling oil and gas prices. That…