Raymond James analyst J. Marshall Adkins double downgraded Nabors Industries to Market Perform from Strong Buy due to expectations of softer 2019 drilling activity. Adkins lowered Nabors' 2019 total active rig count to 232 from 248 and expects US average day-rates to be flat from Q4 through 1H 2019. The analyst moved his FY19 earnings estimate below consensus to (71c) from (37c), versus consensus of (32c), and also notes high leverage and near-term maturities for his more cautious view.

Reports Q1 revenue $734M, consensus $728.89M. The first quarter results included a gain, related to mark-to-market treatment of Nabors warrants, of $6M, or 62c per diluted share. Anthony Petrello, Nabors Chairman, CEO and President, commented, "Our first quarter operating results were stronger than we expected, driven by resilient pricing and lower costs in our Lower 48 drilling operations, as well as higher than forecast OEM repair revenue and energy transition revenue in our Rig Technologies segment. Rig count increased in our International segment, driven by rig startups in Saudi Arabia and Algeria, as part of our commitment to deploy seven rigs in these two countries during 2024. We have also received recent awards in Argentina for three more rigs. I believe we are in the midst of the largest opportunity that we've seen in the last decade to strengthen our international business. Pricing in the Lower 48 market remained firm, as utilization of our highest specification rigs stayed strong across several important markets. Average rig count increased compared to the prior quarter, but was slightly below our estimates, mainly reflecting activity reductions in natural gas basins. Results in our Drilling Solutions segment reflected reduced activity in the Lower 48, partially offset by better growth from international markets."