Fluor (NYSE:FLR), McDermott (NYSE:MDR) Remain Attractive to Barclays (NYSE:BCS)

In the U.S. Engineering & Construction, Barclays (NYSE:BCS) remains a bull on Fluor (NYSE:FLR) and McDermott (NYSE:MDR).

"After meeting with FLR and MDR at BarCap's Energy/E&C conference, we remain bullish on both stocks. We see several commonalities between the two companies including: 1) we think both companies can continue to grow backlog over the near to medium term, 2) both management teams seem focused on being as proactive as possible in risk mitigation of their project portfolios, and 3) both management teams seem like they will be prudent but proactive regarding significant cash deployment," said Barclays.

"FLR management not surprisingly continues to be bullish regarding
significant potential oil & gas opportunities in the near term including the large multi-billion dollar Santos GLNG opportunity, which we still think could be booked by the end of 2010. Importantly, we think FLR may have more of a handle around its problematic Greater Gabbard offshore wind project than we thought.

"MDR management continues to be bullish on near-to-medium-term prospects for larger bookings in Asia and especially in the Middle East, while the Atlantic Basin could be a significant source of longer-term growth. While timing of new awards for MDR is always difficult to determine, we think MDR's good customer relationships in the Middle East and Asia could mean lumpy but generally increasing backlog for the company in 2011. Moreover, MDR management seems to be very focused on proactively mitigating risk throughout its project portfolio."

Fluor surged Thursday, closing at $57.08, gaining $2.13, or 3.88 percent. McDermontt closed at $17.64, gaining $0.35, or 2.02 percent. Trading volume for both companies was above 3-month daily averages.