Top Oil Service Companies To Watch For 2014

When the original estimates for capital expenditures for 2013 came out, it looked as though oil services might be the place to be. Based on the recent earnings release from Nabors Industries (NYSE: NBR  ) , though, you might think otherwise. Here's the problem: Nabors is stuck between two emerging trends that could put a big squeeze on the rig company. Let's look at these two trends and Nabors' one hope for a better future.

Not everybody wins with greater efficiency
In�comparison with the rest of the oil and gas industry, horizontal drilling and hydraulic fracturing are still very young technologies. As exploration and production companies have�become�more�familiar�with the processes, they have also been able to eke out more�efficient�drilling. One major revolution that has brought along big savings is the concept of pad drilling, or drilling multiple wells within a couple of feet of each other to tap different parts of the oil formation below. Thanks to these gains in efficiency, companies have been able to drill more wells while using less drilling rigs.

Top 10 Industrial Conglomerate Stocks To Invest In 2015: CEVA Inc.(CEVA)

CEVA, Inc., together with its subsidiaries, engages in licensing silicon intellectual property (SIP) for the handsets, mobile broadband, portable, and consumer electronics markets primarily in the United States, Europe, the Middle East, and the Asia Pacific. It designs and licenses DSP cores in the form of a hardware description language definition; a portfolio of application-specific platforms, including wireless baseband, audio, imaging and vision, voice over Internet protocols (VoIP), Bluetooth, and serial storage technology and serial attached SCSI; and development platforms, software development kits, and software debug tools that facilitate system design, debug, and software development. The company?s intellectual property (IP) is used by semiconductor and original equipment manufacturer companies for application-specific integrated circuits and application-specific standard products. It serves various markets, including feature phones, smartphones, machine to machi ne for various cellular standards, home entertainment, portable game consoles, and serial storage and telecommunication devices. CEVA, Inc. markets its technology through a direct sales force. The company was formerly known as ParthusCeva, Inc. and changed its name to CEVA, Inc. in December 2003. CEVA, Inc. was founded in 1999 and is headquartered in Mountain View, California.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Seth Jayson]

  Calling all cash flows
  When you are trying to buy the market's best stocks, it's worth checking up on your companies' free cash flow once a quarter or so, to see whether it bears any relationship to the net income in the headlines. That's what we do with this series. Today, we're checking in on CEVA (Nasdaq: CEVA  ) , whose recent revenue and earnings are plotted below.

Top Oil Service Companies To Watch For 2014: Lightstream Resources Ltd (LSTMF.PK)

Lightstream Resources Ltd, formerly PetroBakken Energy Ltd., is a Canada-based oil and gas exploration and production company. The Company�� principal operating areas include southeastern Saskatchewan where it targets the Bakken formation and conventional Mississippian reservoirs, central Alberta, where it is focused on the Cardium formation, and north-central Alberta, where it is engaged in exploring for light oil resource plays. In addition, the Company also has land holdings in the Horn River and Montney plays in northeast British Columbia. On December 31, 2012, Petrobank Energy and Resources Ltd. and PetroBakken Energy Ltd. announced the completion of the reorganization. The Reorganization resulted in a newly incorporated company PetroBakken Energy Ltd. (New PetroBakken). Advisors' Opinion:

• [By MLP Trader]

  Here are the current top five companies in the list:

  CompanySymbolEV/BOEPD/NetbackPrice/NAVEV/DACFPinecrest(PNCGF.PK)53564%4.0XLightstream(LSTMF.PK)131753%4.5XNovus(NOVUF.PK)133290%4.1XZargon(ZARFF.PK)138664%5.6XTwin Butte(TBTEF.PK)155885%5.5X

  Of the larger companies, one that remains obstinately near the top of the list is Lightstream . Lightstream trades at 40% of its book value and a whopping 13.4% yield.

Top Oil Service Companies To Watch For 2014: Gran Tierra Energy Inc (GTE)

Gran Tierra Energy Inc. (Gran Tierra) is an independent international energy company engaged in oil and gas acquisition, exploration, development and production. Gran Tierra owns oil and gas properties in Colombia, Argentina, Peru and Brazil. During the year ended December 31, 2011, the Company focused on development of producing fields and generation of exploration prospects in Colombia, including the acquisition of three blocks in the Petrolifera acquisition and the acquisition of a working interest in the Llanos 22 Block. It delivers its oil to Ecopetrol S.A. (Ecopetrol) through its transportation facilities, which include pipelines, gathering systems and trucking. On March 18, 2011, the Company acquired of all the issued and outstanding common shares and warrants of Petrolifera Petroleum Limited (Petrolifera). Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Richard Moroney]

  Gran Tierra Energy (GTE) ranks among the very best stocks in Quadrix. Shares earn the maximum Overall score of 100, ranking them Number One among the 165 energy exploration stocks in our research universe.

• [By Eric Lam]

  Bankers Petroleum Ltd. and Legacy Oil & Gas Inc. climbed at least 4.1 percent as the price of crude advanced. Gran Tierra Energy Inc. (GTE) added 4.7 percent after boosting its 2013 production forecasts. Bank of Montreal added 0.6 percent after naming a chief operating officer. Argonaut Gold Inc. dropped 6.5 percent to pace losses among metals miners. SNC-Lavalin Group Inc. sank 4.5 percent after cutting its earnings forecast for the year.

• [By Caiman Valores]

  The volume of Whitecap's proved and probable reserves also compares favorably to many of the company's peers, as shown by the chart below being higher than similarly sized Canadian peers Gran Tierra Energy (GTE) and Petrominerales (PMGLF.PK).

• [By Richard Moroney]

  Based in Canada, Gran Tierra Energy (GTE) explores for oil and gas in Colombia, Argentina, Peru, and Brazil. In August, management raised its full-year production guidance, with the midpoint implying 27% growth.

Top Oil Service Companies To Watch For 2014: Sharp Corp (SRP)

Sharp Corporation is a Japan-based company mainly engaged in the manufacture and sale of electric telecommunication, electric and electronic equipment. The Company operates in two business segments. The Electronics Equipment segment offers audio and video (AV) and communication products, including liquid crystal color televisions, projectors and various telephones; health and environmental equipment, including refrigerators, microwaves and air conditioners, as well as information equipment, such as handy terminal equipment, electronic registers, information displays and copy machines. The Electronic Component segment provides liquid related products such as liquid crystal display modules, solar cells, as well as other electronic devices, such as parts for satellite broadcasting, regulators and optical sensors. The Company withdrawed from solar battery production in United Kingdom by end of Feb. 2014. Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Sofia Horta e Costa]

  Vivendi SA climbed 2.7 percent after posting better-than-estimated third-quarter profit and saying it plans to spin off its French phone carrier SFR by July 2014. Serco Group Plc (SRP) increased 1.7 percent as UBS AG upgraded the stock. Safran SA (SAF) lost 3.2 percent as its largest shareholder sold a stake.

• [By Alexis Xydias]

  Eurasian Natural Resources Corp. fell 3.7 percent, as a gauge of London-listed commodity producers dropped. BAE Systems Plc (BA/) retreated 2.1 percent after Deutsche Bank AG downgraded Europe�� biggest defense company. Serco Group Plc (SRP) advanced 2.7 percent after saying first-half sales will grow at a faster pace than it had estimated.