This Just In: Upgrades and Downgrades: Heckmann Corporation (HEK)

And, yes, topping it all off is the fact that Heckmann is already generating positive free cash flow and has continued doing so for two straight quarters.

Foolish final thought
Now, does all this mean Heckmann is a lock? An obvious buy, and a stock you must run right out and buy right now?

Hardly. To the contrary, with a trailing-12-month record that’s still firmly free-cash-flow negative, a balance sheet stacked to the rafters with more than $250 million net debt, and the very real possibility that Heckmann will be forced to reduce earnings guidance — as Wedbush predicts — Heckmann remains a very risky stock.

It is, however, a stock that’s begun to turn itself around. Whether it’s worth buying today or still overpriced and too dangerous to own depends entirely on the speed at which the turnaround progresses. And to gauge that we’ll simply have to wait for Q4 earnings. Check back in March, and we’ll give you all the details.

The article This Just In: Upgrades and Downgrades originally appeared on Fool.com and is written by Rich Smith.

Fool contributor Rich Smith has no positions in the stocks mentioned above. You can find him on CAPS, publicly pontificating under the handle TMFDitty, where he’s currently ranked No. 341 out of more than 180,000 members.The Motley Fool recommends Dawson Geophysical Company and Halliburton. The Motley Fool owns shares of Dawson Geophysical Company and Heckmann and has the following options: Long Jan 2014 $4 Calls on Heckmann and Short Jan 2014 $3 Puts on Heckmann.

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