Nabors Industries Ltd. (NBR), Basic Energy Services, Inc (BAS): Insiders Are Spending Millions On These 2 Energy Stocks — Should You?

Thanks to a series of near-term drilling challenges, Basic Energy Services, Inc (NYSE:BAS) management concedes that the second half of 2013 will generate middling results, though management made a solid case for growth in 2014 on a recent conference call.

Still, analysts at Williams Capital offered up a typical Wall Street response, rating shares a hold due to their lack of timeliness. Yet they also have a $16 price target, which is roughly 30% above current levels. “The stock has substantial upside to our price target, and given the (July 26 sell‐off), a near‐term recovery in the shares would not be surprising.” However, fundamental improvement is still several quarters away, noted their analysts. That $16 price target equates to just four times projected EBITDA (earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization).

Goldman Sachs also has a seemingly cautious view: “It appears increasingly likely that a true recovery in service activity may not come until 2014.” Yet they think that shares are so inexpensive in relation to 2014 and 2015 EBITDA projections, that they have this stock on their “Conviction List,” which is reserved for stocks with solid potential upside. Their $18 price target equates to 4.3 times projected 2015 EBITDA.