Superior Energy shares wobble with market after 3Q

NEW YORK - Shares of Superior Energy Services Inc. fell Friday morning after broad economic news offset strong third-quarter earnings from the company, but the stock recovered by midday.

The stock lost 27 cents to $19.98 in midday trading. Earlier in the session shares had dropped as much as 8 percent from Thursday's close.

Superior Energy provides rental tools and other support for the petroleum industry.

After the closing bell Thursday, the Harvey, La.-based company posted net income of $99.9 million, or $1.22 per share, up 33 percent from $75.1 million, or 91 cents per share, in the year-ago period.

Excluding earnings related from hedging contracts, the company earned $87.6 million, or $1.07 per share, during the period.

Analysts polled by Thomson Reuters expected earnings of $1.04 per share for the period. Analysts typically exclude one-time items.

Revenue for the period ended Sept. 30, rose 23 percent to $490.3 million from $398.9 million, exceeding the $469.9 million analysts had expected.

Yet Friday morning crude oil prices slipped and Thursday the Commerce Department said personal spending fell 0.3 percent last month, news that might have affected the stock, said Pritchard Capital Partners analyst Mark Brown.

"Sometimes these macroeconomic factors cause investors to rotate out of certain names on news," he said in a phone interview.

Despite the drop, the earnings report was "great news for the company," said Brown, who rates shares "Buy."

Superior Energy will likely benefit from salvage and repair efforts in the Gulf of Mexico after Hurricanes Ike and Gustav tore through the region earlier this year, he said.

"I wouldn't be surprised to see the stock do well over the next couple of months," Brown said.

In the past 52 weeks, the stock has traded between $14.87 and $57.75, and is off 41 percent since January.

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