The Zacks Analyst Blog Highlights: Baker Hughes, Pioneer Natural Resources, Concho Resources And Evolution Petroleum

For Immediate Release

Chicago, IL – April 11, 2017 – Zacks.com announces the list of stocks featured in the Analyst Blog. Every day the Zacks Equity Research analysts discuss the latest news and events impacting stocks and the financial markets. Stocks recently featured in the blog include Baker Hughes Inc. (NYSE: BHI – Free Report ), Pioneer Natural Resources Company (NYSE:PXD – Free Report ), Concho Resources Inc. (NYSE: CXO – Free Report ) and Evolution Petroleum Corporation (NYSEMKT: EPM – Free Report ).

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Here are highlights from Monday’s Analyst Blog:

U.S. Rig Count Increases for 10th Consecutive Month

Oilfield services player Baker Hughes Inc. (NYSE: BHI – Free Report ) recently declared the rig count for Mar 2017. In the U.S., the total number of rigs increased from both the previous and year-ago months owing to a higher number of land rigs. This is the 10th consecutive increase in the U.S. monthly rig count.

Analysis of the Data

North America Rig Count

Total rig count in North America – the U.S. and Canada – was 1,042 for Mar 2017. Though the reported figure was lower than the Feb 2017 count of 1,086, it was higher than 566 recorded in Mar 2016.

U.S. rig: Total number of rigs in the U.S. was 789. This was higher than 744 rigs in Feb and 478 rigs in the year-ago period.

Of the total U.S. rigs, land rigs were 770. This is higher than 724 rigs in the prior month and 451 rigs in Mar 2016.

The number of U.S. offshore rigs for Mar 2017 was 19 compared with 20 rigs in Feb 2017 and 27 in Mar 2016.

Canada rig: In Canada, the total rig count was 253 as against 342 rigs in Feb 2017 and 88 counted in Mar 2016.

International Rig Count

Total international rig count – offshore and land – for March was 943. The count was up by two from February but below the count of 985 rigs in Mar 2016.

Offshore rig: The offshore rig count for Mar 2017 was 197 as against 200 in February and 211 in the prior-year comparable month.

Land Rig: The land rig count was 746 compared with 741 in Feb 2017 and 774 in Mar 2016.

What’s Driving the Increase in U.S Rig Count?

The increase in rig count, both on a year-over-year and sequential basis, clearly indicates the resurgence in production by U.S. shale. Let’s take a closer look at the factors driving the rise in output.

Oil prices recovered significantly from the record lows in mid-Feb 2016 after OPEC agreed to curb crude output amid an oversupplied commodity market. With crude improvement the shale producers started drilling more and more oil as the commodity can now be sold at higher prices.

Companies Poised to Benefit

U.S. E&P firms are to likely benefit the most from these developments. Our proprietary model shows that Pioneer Natural Resources Company (NYSE:PXD) (NYSE: PXD – Free Report ), Concho Resources Inc. (NYSE: CXO – Free Report ) and Evolution Petroleum Corporation (NYSEMKT: EPM – Free Report ) are among the upstream companies that are worth including in your portfolio. Pioneer sports a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy), while Concho and Evolution Petroleum carry a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here .

All the stocks show strong pricing figure and were able to surpass the Zacks categorized Oil & Gas-U.S Exploration & Production industry over the last one year. While the broader industry increased 11.3% during the aforesaid period, shares of Pioneer, Concho and Evolution Petroleum gained 33%, 23.4% and 60.8%, respectively.

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