Diamond Offshore Drilling Inc.’s DO first-quarter 2017 adjusted earnings of 17 cents per share comfortably surpassed the Zacks Consensus Estimate of 12 cents. The quarterly figure, however, decreased from the year-ago earnings of 64 cents per share. The decrease was mainly due to lower revenues from Contract Drilling segment as well as lesser ultra-deepwater and jackup utilization.Total revenue of $374.2 million for the first quarter was lower than the year-ago figure of $470.5 million. However, the top line beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $373.6 million.Operational PerformanceIn the first quarter, revenues from the Contract Drilling segment plunged 20.5% year over year to approximately $363.6 million.Ultra-Deepwater floaters recorded an average dayrate of $450,000 as against $533,000 in the year-earlier quarter. Deepwater floaters realized an average dayrate of $260,000 compared with $334,000 in the year-ago quarter. Mid-water floaters recorded an average dayrate of $268,000 versus $263,000 in the prior-year quarter. Jackup rig dayrates averaged $75,000 as against $118,000 in the first quarter of 2016.Rig utilization for Ultra-Deepwater floaters decreased to 50% from 61% in the year-ago quarter. Utilization of Deepwater floaters increased to 48% from 28% a year ago. Mid-water category rig utilization was 40% as against 25% in the comparable quarter last year. Jackup rig utilization decreased significantly to 29% from 18%.Diamond Offshore Drilling, Inc. Price, Consensus and EPS Surprise Diamond Offshore Drilling, Inc. Price, Consensus and EPS Surprise | Diamond Offshore Drilling, Inc. QuoteFinancialsAs of Mar 31, 2017, Diamond Offshore had approximately $123.3 million in cash and cash equivalents, while long-term debt was $1,981.2 million.Zacks RankDiamond Offshore currently carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). Some better-ranked stocks from the same space are SunCoke Energy, Inc. SXC, China Petroleum & Chemical Corporation SNP and Bellatrix Exploration Ltd. BXE. All these stocks sport a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.SunCoke Energy posted a positive earnings surprise of 120.0% in the preceding quarter. It beat estimates in two of the four trailing quarters with an average negative earnings surprise of 35.78%.Bellatrix Exploration posted a positive earnings surprise of 240.00% in the preceding quarter. It beat estimates in three of the four trailing quarters with an average positive earnings surprise of 58.54%.5 Trades Could Profit "Big-League" from Trump PoliciesIf the stocks above spark your interest, wait until you look into companies primed to make substantial gains from Washington's changing course.Today Zacks reveals 5 tickers that could benefit from new trends like streamlined drug approvals, tariffs, lower taxes, higher interest rates, and spending surges in defense and infrastructure. See these buy recommendations now >>Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days. Click to get this free report China Petroleum & Chemical Corporation (SNP): Free Stock Analysis Report SunCoke Energy, Inc. (SXC): Free Stock Analysis Report Bellatrix Exploration Ltd (BXE): Free Stock Analysis Report Diamond Offshore Drilling, Inc. (DO): Free Stock Analysis Report To read this article on Zacks.com click here. Zacks Investment Research