Is it a good company at a reasonable price? I plan to hold on to the shares I have at this time. I have no intentions of buying more. My purchase of this stock is with my fooling around money. This stock tends to cyclical in nature. I do not think that it is really cheap enough to buy at this time. My testing is saying that it is reasonable, but above the median.
I own this stock of Ensign Energy Services (TSX-ESI, OTC-ESVIF). I bought this stock in June 2012. I had been following this stock for some time. I sold this stock in December 2014 to buy Mullen instead. I know I would be selling Ensign at a loss, but I also could buy Mullen cheaply. See my post on Ensign and Mullen. In June 2020, Ensign was selling at $0.74. It was quite a low, so I bought some. I again bought more in May 2021 at $1.33. If you consider my adventure in this stock from 2012, I have still made a profit of 3.78% per year. If you just consider what I bought from 2020, my total return is 29.51% per year.
When I was updating my spreadsheet, I noticed I have had this stock twice. The first time I bought in 2012 and sole in 2014 at a loss. When I was very cheap in 2020 and 2021, I bought again.
I see that revenue has declined both of the last 2 years. However, insider hold a lot of stocks. The CEO and one director both have over 1M shares. The chairman has 43M shares.
In the chart below, I am showing 5 and 10 year total growth and per year growth in columns 3 and 4. Column 5 shows growth over 12 months to the first quarter in 2026 and expected growth over this year. You can see that there is growth in the last 5 years, but not in the last 10 years. There is also not much growth in the first part of this year but growth is expected this year.
| Yr | Item | Tot. Growth | Per Year | Growth | Coverage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 5 | Revenue Growth | 74.94% | 11.84% | -1.13% | <-12 mths |
| 5 | FFO Growth | 53.85% | 9.00% | -2.00% | <-12 mths |
| 5 | Net Income Growth | 51.14% | 8.61% | -38.12% | <-12 mths |
| 5 | Cash Flow Growth | 33.61% | 5.97% | -2.71% | <-12 mths |
| 5 | Dividend Growth | 0.00% | 0.00% | 0.00% | <-12 mths |
| 5 | Stock Price Growth | 179.12% | 22.79% | 57.09% | <-12 mths |
| 10 | Revenue Growth | 17.82% | 1.65% | 4.34% | <-this year |
| 10 | FFO Growth | 3.09% | 0.31% | -4.50% | <-this year |
| 10 | Net Income Growth | 0.00% | 0.00% | 36.40% | <-this year |
| 10 | Cash Flow Growth | -19.96% | -2.20% | 0.43% | <-this year |
| 10 | Dividend Growth | 0.00% | 0.00% | 0.00% | <-this year |
| 10 | Stock Price Growth | -65.58% | -10.12% | 57.09% | <-this year |
If you had invested in this company in December 2015, for $1,003.68 you would have bought 136 shares at $7.38 per share. In December 2025, after 10 years you would have received $277.44 in dividends. The stock would be worth $345.44. Your total return would have been $622.88. This would be a total loss of 6.43% per year with 10.12% from capital loss and 3.68% from dividends.
| Cost | Tot. Cost | Shares | Years | Dividends | Stock Val | Tot Ret |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| $7.38 | $1,003.68 | 136 | 10 | $277.44 | $345.44 | $622.88 |
If you had invested in this company in December 2020, for $1,000.09 you would have bought 1,099 shares at $0.91 per share. In December 2025, after 10 years you would have received $0.00 in dividends. The stock would be worth $2,791.46. Your total return would have been $2,791.46. This would be a total gain of 22.79% per year with 22.79% from capital gain and 0.00% from dividends.
| Cost | Tot. Cost | Shares | Years | Dividends | Stock Val | Tot Ret |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| $0.91 | $1,000.09 | 1,099 | 5 | $0.00 | $2,791.46 | $2,791.46 |
The company stopped paying dividends in 2020 after having paid dividends since 1995. It is not clear when or if they will pay dividends again. According to AI the company suspended its dividend in early 2020 due to market instability and has not reinstated it, choosing instead to prioritize significant corporate debt reduction and balance sheet deleveraging
Debt Ratios are fine, but it does have a high debt level. The Long Term Debt/Market Cap Ratio for 2025 is too high at 2.01 and currently at 1.28. The Liquidity Ratio for 2025 is low at 1.35 and 1.31 currently. If you added in Cash Flow after dividends, the ratios are fine at 2.58 and currently at 2.44. The Debt Ratio for 2025 is good at 1.94 and 1.93 currently. The Leverage and Debt/Equity Ratios for 2025 are fine at 2.06 and 1.06 and currently at 2.08and 1.08.
| Type | Year End | Ratio Curr |
|---|---|---|
| Lg Term | 2.01 | 1.28 |
| Intang/GW | 0.00 | 0.00 |
| Liquidity | 1.34 | 1.31 |
| Liq. + CF | 2.58 | 2.44 |
| Debt Ratio | 1.94 | 1.93 |
| Leverage | 2.06 | 2.08 |
| D/E Ratio | 1.06 | 1.08 |
The Total Return per year is shown below for years of 5 to 34 to the end of 2025. Under the Capital Gain column is the portion of the Total Return attributable to capital gains. Under the Dividend column is the portion of the Total Return attributable to dividends. See chart below.
| From | Years | Div. Gth | Tot Ret | Cap Gain | Div. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | 5 | 0.00% | 22.79% | 22.79% | 0.00% |
| 2015 | 10 | 0.00% | -6.43% | -10.12% | 3.68% |
| 2010 | 15 | 0.00% | -7.68% | -11.18% | 3.50% |
| 2005 | 20 | 0.00% | -7.40% | -10.52% | 3.12% |
| 2000 | 25 | 0.00% | -0.14% | -5.04% | 4.90% |
| 1995 | 30 | 0.00% | 13.35% | 2.63% | 10.72% |
| 1991 | 34 | 0.00% | 25.35% | 8.34% | 17.01% |
The 5-year low, median, and high median Price/Earnings per Share Ratios are all negative and so useless. The corresponding 10 year ratios are negative and therefore useless. The corresponding historical ratios are 8.23, 12.18 and 16.24. The current ratio is negative and so no testing can be done here.
I also have Funds Flow from Operations (FFO) data. The 5-year low, median, and high median Price/ Funds Flow from Operations Ratios are 0.86, 1.31 and 1.72. The corresponding 10 year ratios are 0.89, 1.53 and 2.33. The corresponding historical ratios are 3.16, 4.68 and 5.52. The current ratio is 1.88 based on FFO of $1.91 and a stock price of $3.60. This ratio is between median and high ratios of the 10 year median ratios. This stock price testing suggests that the stock price is relatively reasonable but above the median.
I get a Graham Price of $3.77 (with EPS in the formula). The 10-year low, median, and high median Price/Graham Price Ratios are 0.44, 0.67 and 0.89. The current ratio is 0.96 based on a stock price of $3.60. This ratio is above the high ratio of the 10 year median ratio. However, since the EPS was negative so often, I had to guess at the Graham Price for a number of years, this is probably not a good test.
I get a Graham Price of $17.35 (with FFO in the formula). The 10-year low, median, and high median Price/Graham Price Ratios are 0.10, 0.16 and 0.23. The current ratio is 0.21 based on a stock price of $3.60. This ratio is between the median and high ratios of the 10 year median ratios. This stock price testing suggests that the stock price is relatively reasonable but above the median.
I get a 10-year median Price/Book Value per Share Ratio of 0.44. The current ratio is 0.51 based on a Book Value of $1,291M, Book Value per Share of $7.00 and a stock price of $3.60. The current ratio is 17% above the 10 year median ratio. This stock price testing suggests that the stock price is relatively reasonable but above the median.
I also have a Book Value per Share estimate for 2026 of $7.03. In this case the ratio is 0.51 based on a Book Value per Share of $7.03, Book Value of $1,295M and a stock price of $3.60. the current ratio is 16% above the 10 year median ratio. This stock price testing suggests that the stock price is relatively reasonable but above the median.
I get a 10-year median Price/Cash Flow per Share Ratio of 1.73. The current ratio is 2.00 based on Cash Flow per Share estimate for 2026 of $1.80, Cash Flow of $331.4M and a stock price of $3.60. The current ratio is 15% above the 10 year median ratio. This stock price testing suggests that the stock price is relatively reasonable but above the median.
I cannot do any dividend yield testing as this stock does not have a dividend.
The 10-year median Price/Sales (Revenue) Ratio is 0.34. The current P/S Ratio is 0.39 based on Revenue estimate for 2026 of $1,710M, Revenue per Share of $9.28 and a stock price of $3.60. The current ratio is 14% above the 10 year median ratio. This stock price testing suggests that the stock price is relatively reasonable but above the median.
Results of stock price testing is that the stock price is probably still reasonable, but it is above the median. The P/S Ratio testing is saying that the stock price is reasonable but above the median. In fact, all the good tests are saying the same thing.
When I look at analysts’ recommendations, I find Buy (1) and Hold (4). The consensus is a Hold. The 12 month stock price consensus is $4.30 with a high of $5.00 and a low of $3.75. This implies a total return of 19.44% with 19.44% from capital gains and 0.00% from dividends based on a current stock price of $3.60.
Analysts on Stock Chase have entries for 2025 but not 2026. The reviews for 2025 are a mixed bag. One said that the company was caught in challenging times with a lot of debt. The was probably the best comment. Some thought it a buy and others said Do Not Buy. Most were just comments. Aditya Raghunath on Motley Fool says to buy undervalued Canadian stock that are growing. My spreadsheet shows this company has been growing over the past 5 years. Amy Legate-Wolfe on Motley Fool also says to buy for potential strong growth. The company put out a Press Release about their fourth quarter of 2025. The company put out a Press Release about their first quarter of 2026.
Simply Wall Street via Yahoo Finance reviews this company. They give the pros and cons of investing in this company. Simply Wall Street has one warning of Significant insider selling over the past 3 months. Sites seem to confuse not taking up options and sell. However, the CEO and two officers I follow bought shares over the past year. The CFO is new and I have not data on him. Also, one of the directors I follow bought shares in the past year. The rest of the officers and directors I follow did not change the number of shares held in the past year.
Ensign Energy Services Inc provides oilfield services to the crude oil and natural gas industries in Canada, the United States, and internationally. Geographically the company operates in nine countries; Canada, the United States, Argentina, Australia, Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, United Arab Emirates, and Venezuela. Its web site is here Ensign Energy Services.
The last stock I wrote about was about was Adentra Inc (TSX-ADEN, OTC-HDIUF) ... learn more. The next stock I will write about will be Sylogist Ltd (TSX-SYZ, OTC-SYZLF) ... learn more on Monday, June 22, 2026 around 5 pm.
This blog is meant for educational purposes only and is not to provide investment advice. I am not a licensed professional investment advisor. Before making any investment decision, you should always do your own research or consult an investment professional. I do research for my own edification and I am willing to share. I write what I think and I may or may not be correct.
See my site for an index to these blog entries and for stocks followed. I have three blogs. The first talks only about specific stocks and is called Investment Talk. The second one contains information on mostly investing and is called Investing Economics Mostly. My last blog is for my book reviews and it is called Non-Fiction Mostly. Follow me on Twitter. I am on Instagram. Or you can just Google #walktoronto spbrunner8166 to see my pictures.