Pioneer Drilling (PDC) and Oil States Int'l (OIS) - Zacks #1 Rank Top Performers

Pioneer Drilling Company, Inc.

 (PDC) rode a good day for oil and oil-related stocks to the very top of the Zacks #1 Rank List. Shares of this contract land drilling services company soared by almost 15% Monday. 

Actually, it wasn't just a good day for oil-related stocks, but for the market in general. The Dow gained 330 points while the S&P increased 39 points. The NASDAQ moved forward the most on a percentage basis, rising nearly 87 points or 3.5%.

But Pioneer Drilling didn't need a cooperative market to become a Zacks #1 Rank; it accomplished that by convincing analysts to raise their expectations. The Zacks Consensus Estimates for 2011 and 2012 have been unchanged in the past 30 days, but remain above levels from 2 months ago by 10% for this year and 15% for next.

Furthermore, analysts currently expect 2012 profit to soar nearly 180% year over year.

The past 5 quarters have seen PDC beat 4 times and match once. Most recently, it announced earnings per share of 7 cents for its second quarter, which reversed a year-ago loss while topping the Zacks Consensus Estimate by as much as 75%.

Revenue jumped 46% from last year to $171.3 million, thanks to higher utilization, improved pricing at the Drilling Services and Production Services Divisions, and contribution from addition equipment in the Production Services Division.

Another oil-related company with a solid performance on Monday was Oil States International, Inc. (OIS), which gained 9.35%. Volume was around 870,000 shares, compared to the daily average of nearly 785,000.

Earnings estimates for OIS have been steadily moving higher for months now. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for this year is currently $5.58 per share, which is up more than 9% in 3 months. There has also been a 2-cent improvement in just the past 7 trading days.

Meanwhile, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for 2012 is $6.81 per share. In addition to being 22% better than the expectation for 2011, this outlook has also advanced more than 9% in 3 months. The past 7 days has seen a slight penny improvement as well.

Oil States Int'l has really been taking advantage of solid commodity prices, especially for oil, which has supported its high levels of customer spending. The company has been beating quarterly earnings expectations for years now.

In the second quarter, it posted earnings per share of $1.34, marking a surprise of more than 13.5% from the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $1.18. Revenue increased to $820.3 million from $594.5 million year over year on broad-based growth.

Other top performers in Monday's session included Delek US Holdings, Inc. (DK), Changyou.com Ltd. (CYOU) and Sinclair Broadcast Group, Inc. (SBGI).

 
CHANGYOU.COM (CYOU): Free Stock Analysis Report
 
DELEK US HLDGS (DK): Free Stock Analysis Report
 
OIL STATES INTL (OIS): Free Stock Analysis Report
 
PIONEER DRILLNG (PDC): Free Stock Analysis Report
 
SINCLAIR BROADC (SBGI): Free Stock Analysis Report
 
Zacks Investment Research