Odyssey Marine: A Strong Buy - Analyst Blog

On March 20, Zacks Investment Research upgraded Odyssey Marine Exploration Inc. OMEX to a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy) owing to solid fourth-quarter 2013 results.

Why the Upgrade?

Odyssey Marine posted strong fourth-quarter 2013 financial results on March 11, 2014. The results included a positive earnings surprise of 8.3%. With this, the company delivered positive earnings surprises in two of its last four reported quarters with an average beat of 33.6%. Since the earnings release, shares of this stock from the business services industry has spiked nearly 4.6% to close at $2.51 on March 21.

Odyssey Marine reported fourth-quarter net operating earnings per share of 22 cents, escalating 46.7% year over year. The number also beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate by a penny.

Bottom-line growth was attributable to Odyssey Marine's strong abilities to discover, recover and monetize valuable assets under sea. In the fourth quarter, Odyssey Marine monetized 61 tons of silver, which were recovered from the 2013 SS Gairsoppa shipwreck.

Odyssey Marine is witnessing operating synergies due to validation of its new mineral business that drives deep ocean exploration capabilities to discover deposits of undersea mineral.

The estimates for Odyssey Marine are also on an uptrend, indicating the firm is poised to outperform in the coming quarters. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for loss for 2014 slimmed 30.8% over the past four weeks to 9 cents per share.

Other Stocks to Consider

Some other top-ranked stocks worth considering in the business services industry include JTH Holding, Inc. TAX, SouFun Holdings Ltd. SFUN and ExamWorks Group, Inc. EXAM. While SouFun Holdings and JTH Holding sport a Zacks Rank #1, ExamWorks carries a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy).