Investopedia: Can EnergySolutions Drive Value From Scarce Assets?

Usually, scarcity means value in the equity markets. Unfortunately, anything relating to the nuclear power sector in the U.S. is colored with risk and uncertainty, and small engineering services firm EnergySolutions (NYSE:ES) has had trouble leveraging its expertise and assets in nuclear decommissioning. Although budgets and schedules are likely to remain uncertain for the foreseeable future, it would seem that the valuation on this stock has factored in quite a lot of bad news already.

Ahead of Schedule and Under Budget  
The biggest project at present for EnergySolutions is the decommissioning of Exelon's (NYSE:EXC) Zion plant. Although there were fears that the early margins on this project would be weak, overall results have not been bad at all so far. More to the point, as of early 2012, it looks like this project is on target or better, and the company is working to renegotiate a cumbersome letter of credit. (For related reading, see Analyzing Operating Margins.)

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Investopedia: Can EnergySolutions Power Up With Nuclear Energy?

Shakespeare may have thought that it was better to try and fail than to never try at all, but Wall Street is seldom so forgiving. While EnergySolutions (NYSE:ES) has a lot going for it as a very rare pure play on nuclear energy services, the company is going through a difficult adjustment. After trying to compete as a tier-1 player, the company looks to be retrenching, and near-term earnings performance is not looking robust. Nevertheless, patient investors may want to keep an eye on this name as there may be more power to the business than near-term results suggest. (For background reading, check out The Biggest Nuclear Operators In The United States.)

A Tough End to the Year 

Due in part to some accounting readjustments, the fourth quarter of this fiscal year was not very strong for EnergySolutions. Revenue was effectively flat, gross profit was down 15%, and EBITDA fell 6%. None of that is likely to impress analysts, even on an adjusted basis.

Looking around on a division basis does not really help the picture much. The company's international business, its largest component, was basically flat on a revenue basis, but operating income fell more than 20% on lower fees from a major contract. Elsewhere, the commercial services business saw revenue jump, but operating income swung to a loss anyway.

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Investopedia: Nuclear Energy - The Emotion Trade Is In Full Swing

There are plenty of old sayings that advise investors to swim against the tide and invest into troubled sectors when pessimism is at its worst. That is all well and good, but precious few investors have the self-confidence and long-term focus to just ignore a 20% or 30% near-term loss on a new position. With that in mind, then, investors should certainly do their due diligence on now-troubled nuclear power stocks but let the dust settle a bit before taking on new positions.

Shoot First, Ask Questions Later
In the wake of the combined earthquake and tsunami disaster in northeastern Japan, and the resulting emergencies at multiple nuclear facilities in Japan, public fear about nuclear power is once again running high. With activists already jumping on their airwaves to exaggerate and misinform, it seems inevitable that the nuclear industry has lost whatever momentum and credibility it had rebuilt in the 25 years since the Chernobyl disaster.

Investors need go no further than the stocks of those companies exposed to the nuclear power industry. Go-to names like uranium miners Cameco (NYSE:CCJ) and Denison (AMEX: DNN) and engineering and construction firm Shaw (Nasdaq:SHAW) were among those that took a significant drop in the early trading after the disaster struck. Since then, even well-diversified names like General Electric (NYSE:GE) (which has some, but not a lot, of nuclear energy exposure) have come under selling pressure.

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