Pritchard Capital Lowers EPS Estimates on Diamond Offshore, Shares Sink (DO)

Pritchard Capital Partners is lowering its EPS estimates on Diamond Offshore Drilling DO due to increased downtime this quarter. Downtime increased 94 days or about 16%. The issue appears to be maintenance and start-ups in Brazil as its two new builds will be down 41 more days than expected along with two deepwater semis likely down for 27 days for maintenance, reports a Pritchard Capital analyst. Pritchard Capital is lowering their Q3 EPS estimate by 9 cents to $1.35 while raising Q4 estimates to $1.70 from $1.63. Pritchard remains neutral on DO with a price target of $60. Diamond Offshore is trading considerably lower this morning, down 3.6%, to $61.48. Click here to get today's best trading ideas.