Why Diamond Offshore Drilling, Inc. Might Be Ready to Rebound

While Fools should generally take the opinion of Wall Street with a grain of salt, it's not a bad idea to take a closer look at particularly stock-shaking upgrades and downgrades -- just in case their reasoning behind the call makes sense.

What: Shares of Diamond Offshore Drilling, Inc. gained slightly this morning after FBR Capital upgraded the offshore contract driller from underperform to market perform.

So what: Along with the upgrade, analyst Thomas Curran planted a price target of $45 on the stock, representing about 2% worth of downside to Friday's close. While Curran isn't exactly bullish on Diamond's near-term earnings upside, he thinks that the stock is becoming cheap enough to warrant some support from Mr. Market.

Now what: FBR lowered its 2014 EPS view for Diamond from $4.45 to $4.00 and its 2015 forecast from $5.95 to $5.60. "(1) DO's recent, renewed embrace of leverage has diminished the odds of another special dividend cut, in our view; and (2) the stock has declined to in line with our price target, which we believe garners increasing support from valuation metrics, especially NAV methodologies that incorporate backlog," noted Curran. "However, over the next 12 months, the focal time horizon for our rating, we think Diamond should continue to struggle with the forces of market bifurcation, which are exerting a structural squeeze on its earnings power." With the stock flirting with its 52-week lows and sporting a cheapish forward P/E of 7, however, those short-term concerns might be providing patient Fools with a juicy long-term energy play.

More reliable ways to build wealth
One of the dirty secrets that few finance professionals will openly admit is the fact that dividend stocks as a group handily outperform their non-dividend-paying brethren. The reasons for this are too numerous to list here, but you can rest assured that it's true. However, knowing this is only half the battle. The other half is identifying which dividend stocks in particular are the best. With this in mind, our top analysts put together a free list of nine high-yielding stocks that should be in every income investor's portfolio. To learn the identity of these stocks instantly and for free, all you have to do is click here now.

The article Why Diamond Offshore Drilling, Inc. Might Be Ready to Rebound originally appeared on Fool.com.

Brian Pacampara has no position in any stocks mentioned, and neither does The Motley Fool. Try any of our Foolish newsletter services free for 30 days. We Fools may not all hold the same opinions, but we all believe that considering a diverse range of insights makes us better investors. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.

Copyright © 1995 - 2014 The Motley Fool, LLC. All rights reserved. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.