Ensign Energy Services

I am reviewing this stock (TSX-ESI) today as it is on the two dividend paying Canadian stock lists that I following. It is on the Dividend Achievers list at www.dividendachievers.com, and the Dividend Aristocrats list at www.tmxmoney.com/en/individual.html (see indices).

For all the figures I follow, Revenue, Earnings, Stock Price, Book Value and Cash Flow, this stock has had great growth over the past 5 and 10 years. The only not so great growth is in the last 5 years for the stock price. For example, the Revenues have grown 12% over the last 5 years, while the earnings have grown 21%. The stock growth for the last 5 years is just over 5%, but this is not bad considering the current market.

I can see why this stock is on the dividend achievers type lists as the dividends have grown some 16% over the last 10 years and 23% over the last 5 years. Although I must admit that, the dividend yield is often below 1% for this stock. It is currently just over 2%, but this is because of the lower price of the stock in the current market.

The balance sheet on this stock is not bad as the Liquidity Ratio is 1.26 and the Asset/Liability Ratio is 3.34. This last figure is especially good. When you look at the Return on Equity (ROE), this is also very good with the 5 year average of 21% and the end of 2008 at 14%.

The only negative I find on this stock is that the Accrual Ratio is rather high at 6%. No stock is, of course, perfect. This stock quite often has very high Accrual Ratios. This might call into question the quality of the earnings figures. However, as I said above, this stock is a good earner and good dividend payer and money can probably be made with this stock. However, it is in the energy business and is, of course, of a high risk nature. Tomorrow I will review what the analysts are saying on this stock.

With headquarters in Calgary, Alberta, Ensign is an industry leader in the delivery of oilfield services worldwide to the oil and gas industry. They operate in North and South American, Middle East, South East Asia, Africa, Australia and New Zealand. Its web site is www.ensignenergy.com. See my spreadsheet at www.spbrunner.com/stocks/esi.htm.

This blog is meant for educational purposes only, and is not to provide investment advice. Before making any investment decision, you should always do your own research or consult an investment professional. See my website at www.spbrunner.com/stocks.html for a list of the stocks for which I have put up spreadsheets.