Topic: How To Invest

Q: Hello Pat: I’ve been following your advice since the mid-nineties. Throughout the good and the bad, my portfolio has held up very well. I would like your opinion on the following stocks: Oceaneering International, Inc. (OII) NYSE, Brighthouse Financial, Inc. (BHF) Nasdaq, Ship Finance International Limited (SFL) NYSE, and ADRs of ING Group, NYSE. Thanks again!

Article Excerpt

A: Oceaneering International, $15.15, symbol OII on New York (Shares outstanding: 98.5 million; Market cap: $1.5 billion; www.oceaneering.com), is a deep-water oilfield services company. Its ROV segment builds and operates remotely operated vehicles (ROVs); Subsea Products builds custom subsea hardware; and Subsea Projects has vessels for inspection, repair and maintenance services. In the three months ended December 31, 2018, Oceaneering’s revenue rose 2.2%, to $495.1 million from $484.2 million a year earlier. Excluding one-time items, it made $7.3 million, compared to a loss of $8.0 million, or $0.09 a share. Although the costs to produce a barrel of oil from a deep-water or ultra-deep-water field can eventually be nearly as low as—or even lower than—conventional onshore drilling, the upfront costs are immense and the logistics are more complex. During times of uncertain oil prices, most production companies aren’t willing to commit to those significant costs, and prefer instead to focus on cheaper onshore shale opportunities. This will continue to slow drilling activity,…