Investor Kyle Bass (Trades, Portfolio) has procured a 17.1% stake in environmentally conscious unconventional shale oil company Eco-Stim Energy Solutions (ESES, Financial) on July 10, he disclosed Monday.
Bass’ stake consisted of 2,105,263 shares and joined 23 other positions he added from the oil and gas sector in the first quarter, out of a total of 26 listed positions. Energy stocks consumed 23.6% of his stock portfolio because sizable positions from other sectors dominated his top holdings.
The day before Bass reported his stake, Eco-Stim held a public offering of common stock for 5.5 million shares, priced at $4.75 per share. The company’s share price that day closed at $6.20 per share, before falling to $4.50 at the open of trading the following day.
Year to date Eco-Stim share have declined 23.2% to a closing price of $4.99 on Monday, after a 9.67% jump for the day. Monday’s closing price sat near a one-year low.
Eco-Stim is an independent energy-services company whose technologies reduce the environmental impact of well stimulation. Based in Houston, the company focuses on emerging fields in Argentina, which gained its first shale gas well in 2010, and Latin America.
Argentina has the world’s second largest shale gas and fourth largest shale oil reserves, according to the US Energy Information Administration.
The company, which commenced field operations in December 2014, reported $2.9 million in revenue in the first quarter, versus $0.5 million in the same quarter the previous year. It also reported a net loss of $3.7 million, or $0.59 per diluted share, compared to a net loss of $3.0 million, or $0.46 per diluted share, the previous year.
Eco-Stim ended the quarter with cash of $8.0 million, up from $7.0 million at 2014 year-end.
The company has a P/B ratio of 3.4 and P/S ratio of 6.79, close to a one-year low.
Bass' largest oil and gas holdings at first quarter-end were Bonanza Creek Energy (BCEI, Financial), Whiting Petroleum Corp (WLL, Financial) and Concho Resources (CXO, Financial).
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