GulfMark Offshore Inc. Stock Downgraded (GLF)

Editor's Note: TheStreet ratings do not represent the views of TheStreet's staff or its contributors. Ratings are established by computer based on metrics for performance (which includes growth, stock performance, efficiency and valuation) and risk (volatility and solvency). Companies with poor cash flow or high debt levels tend to earn lower ratings in our model.

NEW YORK (TheStreet) -- GulfMark Offshore (NYSE:GLF) has been downgraded by TheStreet Ratings from buy to hold. The company's strengths can be seen in multiple areas, such as its largely solid financial position with reasonable debt levels by most measures, expanding profit margins and notable return on equity. However, as a counter to these strengths, we also find weaknesses including a generally disappointing performance in the stock itself, unimpressive growth in net income and weak operating cash flow.

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Highlights from the ratings report include:

• The current debt-to-equity ratio, 0.37, is low and is below the industry average, implying that there has been successful management of debt levels.
• 42.80% is the gross profit margin for GULFMARK OFFSHORE INC which we consider to be strong. Regardless of GLF's high profit margin, it has managed to decrease from the same period last year. Despite the mixed results of the gross profit margin, GLF's net profit margin of 12.80% compares favorably to the industry average.
• GLF, with its decline in revenue, underperformed when compared the industry average of 16.6%. Since the same quarter one year prior, revenues slightly dropped by 1.8%. The declining revenue appears to have seeped down to the company's bottom line, decreasing earnings per share.
• Looking at the price performance of GLF's shares over the past 12 months, there is not much good news to report: the stock is down 25.86%, and it has underformed the S&P 500 Index. In addition, the company's earnings per share are lower today than the year-earlier quarter. Although its share price is down sharply from a year ago, do not assume that it can now be tagged as cheap and attractive. The reality is that, based on its current price in relation to its earnings, GLF is still more expensive than most of the other companies in its industry.
• Net operating cash flow has decreased to $21.19 million or 27.32% when compared to the same quarter last year. In addition, when comparing the cash generation rate to the industry average, the firm's growth is significantly lower.

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GulfMark Offshore, Inc. provides offshore marine support and transportation services primarily to companies involved in the offshore exploration and production of oil and natural gas. The company has a P/E ratio of 17.4, below the S&P 500 P/E ratio of 17.7. GulfMark has a market cap of $875.9 million and is part of the basic materials sector and energy industry. Shares are down 22.6% year to date as of the close of trading on Wednesday.

You can view the full GulfMark Ratings Report or get investment ideas from our investment research center.

-- Written by a member of TheStreet Ratings Staff

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• GulfMark Offshore Inc. Income Statement