The Globe and Mail reports in its Wednesday, March 13, edition that BMO Capital analyst John Gibson has lowered his recommendation for Step Energy Services to "market perform" from "outperform" due to disappointing quarterly results and a cautious outlook provided by the oil-field services company. The Globe's Darcy Keith writes in the Eye On Equities column that Mr. Gibson slashed his share target by $3 to $4.50. Analysts on average target the shares at $6.41. Mr. Gibson says in a note: "Post quarter, our 2024 and 2025 EBITDA estimates move to $207-million and $211-million, respectively ($222-million and $227-million prior). Step's valuation continues to sit at an inexpensive level of about 1.5 times 2025 EV/EBITDA, while leverage has moved to an impressive 0.5 times. Pressure pumping work can be lumpy quarter to quarter given the project-oriented nature of the business. That said, given Step's mixed outlook into 2H/24, combined with our preference for some of its Canadian only peers (namely SHLE/TCW), we are downgrading the shares." Mr. Gibson says Step Energy had a strong start in 2024 and can now aggressively pursue share buybacks due to significant balance sheet improvements.