Select Energy Services Inc. (NYSE: WTTR) has seen its quiet period come to an end. That allows analysts at the firms in the underwriting syndicate to issue official ratings. So far most of the ratings have been positive.

Select Energy Services, which is a provider of comprehensive water services for hydraulic fracturing and oil drilling, raised about $122 million in April after selling 8.7 million shares at $14. Ahead of the IPO, it had been given a price range of $15 to $18 per share.

Its services include water sourcing, transfer, containment, treatment and disposal, as well as well testing, fluids hauling, accommodation and well site support. The company operates in the United States, with a presence in many of the major shale basins. Revenues in 2016 were $302 million.

24/7 Wall St. has collected the formal analyst ratings for the company.

Credit Suisse started Select Energy Services as Outperform with a $20 target price. The firm’s report noted that Select Energy Services is a full-service water company and is in one of the most misunderstood sub-segments in oilfield services. The firm also maintained that the company leads the industry with 7% to 10% market share.

Merrill Lynch started it as Buy and gave a $20 price objective too. This call used a blended seven-times multiple for its 2018 and 6.5 times its 2019 enterprise value versus EBITDA. The firm noted that Select Energy Services’ asset-lite model is well positioned as the only pure play on booming water demand in U.S. completion activity, and it sees the company’s extensive water access rights portfolio as a competitive advantage and a barrier to entry for the competition.

Three more positive ratings were seen as follows:

• Citigroup issued a new Buy rating but a $19 price target on the shares.
• FBR Capital Markets started coverage with an Outperform rating and a $23 price target.
• Piper Jaffray issued a new Overweight rating with a $21 price target.

JPMorgan was the holdout, without a Buy or Outperform rating. It started Select Energy as Neutral with a $16 price target.

Credit Suisse, FBR Capital Markets, Wells Fargo Securities, Merrill Lynch, Citigroup and JPMorgan were all listed as underwriters.

Select Energy closed at $15.29 on Monday and has a post-IPO trading range of $14.00 to $16.55. Its stock was last seen trading up 2% at $15.60 on Tuesday morning.

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