Oceaneering International (OII) Moves 5.3% Higher: Will This Strength Last?

Oceaneering International (OII) shares soared 5.3% in the last trading session to close at $26.17. The move was backed by solid volume with far more shares changing hands than in a normal session. This compares to the stock's 7.8% loss over the past four weeks.

Oceaneering International's stock advanced yesterday, likely driven by the rising oil prices following geopolitical tensions in Venezuela. The capture of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro by U.S. forces raised concerns about the stability of Venezuela's oil supply, despite its vast reserves. Although Venezuela's oil is challenging to export and refine due to infrastructure issues and its discounted price, any disruption in the region’s oil output could tighten global supply. Additionally, OPEC+ maintained its output levels, providing further support for oil prices, which likely benefited companies like Oceaneering International involved in oil equipment and services.

This oilfield services company is expected to post quarterly earnings of $0.43 per share in its upcoming report, which represents a year-over-year change of +16.2%. Revenues are expected to be $711 million, down 0.3% from the year-ago quarter.

While earnings and revenue growth expectations are important in evaluating the potential strength in a stock, empirical research shows a strong correlation between trends in earnings estimate revisions and near-term stock price movements.

For Oceaneering International, the consensus EPS estimate for the quarter has remained unchanged over the last 30 days. And a stock's price usually doesn't keep moving higher in the absence of any trend in earnings estimate revisions. So, make sure to keep an eye on OII going forward to see if this recent jump can turn into more strength down the road.

The stock currently carries a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy). You can see the complete list of today's Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy) stocks here >>>>

Oceaneering International is a member of the Zacks Oil and Gas - Field Services industry. One other stock in the same industry, Helix Energy (HLX), finished the last trading session 5.8% higher at $6.77. HLX has returned -12.7% over the past month.

For Helix Energy, the consensus EPS estimate for the upcoming report has remained unchanged over the past month at -$0.02. This represents a change of -115.4% from what the company reported a year ago. Helix Energy currently has a Zacks Rank of #3 (Hold).

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This article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).

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