Stock Market News & Stocks to Watch from StraightStocks » Gulf Coast

The New Crude Oil Benchmark That Could Change the Oil Market’s Price Dynamics

Investment U — Tue, 24 Nov 2009 19:46:09 +0000

The New Crude Oil Benchmark That Could Change the Oil Market’s Price Dynamics by Sheena Martin, Contributing Editor Tuesday, November 24, 2009 Earlier this month, the world’s largest oil producer set the table for a move away from traditional light, sweet crude oil. Saudi Aramco, the state-owned company of Saudi Arabia has decided to drop [...]

Stone Energy Outdoes Estimates – Analyst Blog

Zacks Market Commentaries — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 19:14:28 +0000

Stone Energy Corporation (SGY) reported third-quarter 2009 earnings of $1.06 per share, beating the Zacks Consensus Estimate of 66 cents and the year-earlier earnings of $1.04. The robust results were driven by increased production volumes and reduced costs.

Production during the quarter averaged 239 million cubic feet of gas equivalent per day (MMcfe/d), compared to average daily production of 209 MMcfe/d in the prior quarter and 129 MMcfe/d in the year-ago quarter. This increase was primarily due to the company’s successful execution of its hydraulic rig work over program, reduced cycle time and optimization of individual well rates.

Stone expects net daily production to average 225-235 MMcfe in the fourth quarter and 210-220 MMcfe in 2009.

Discretionary cash flow was $157 million during the quarter, down approximately 4% year over year. Prices realized during the quarter averaged $77.39 per barrel of oil (down more than 27% year-over-year) and $5.90 per Mcf of natural gas (down nearly 45% year-over-year). Overall realization, on a per Mcfe basis, was down in excess of 34% year-over-year to $9.23 per Mcfe.

On the costs front, unit lease operating expenses (LOE) were down significantly to $1.28 per Mcfe. The significant reduction in LOE was due to lower maintenance projects operation. DD&A was down nearly 29% year-over-year to $3.06 per Mcfe and SG&A expenses were down 51% year-over-year to 43 cents per Mcfe.

Stone’s capex guidance for 2009 is $300 million, excluding acquisitions, capitalized interest and G&A. For 2010, the company is expecting $350 million of capex though it is yet to be approved by the Board. At the end of the quarter, the company had approximately $98 million in cash and $650 million in long-term debt. Current debt-to-capitalization ratio is 59.9%.

The Gulf of Mexico (GoM) shelf has helped the company to deliver a strong quarter underpinned by both production growth and decreased cost. Last year’s acquisition of Bois d’Arc Energy, a pure-play GoM player, has increased Stone’s footprint in this region. Given this acquisition, the company has now visibility into three years to five years of oil development drilling and more approved developed non-producing reserves.

However, Stone’s high cost and capital-intensive Gulf Coast-centric asset base as well as lack of meaningful exposure to the emerging shale plays are competitive disadvantages. Consequently, we recommend a Neutral rating for the stock.
Read the full analyst report on "SGY"
Zacks Investment Research

Williams Files for Expansion – Analyst Blog

Zacks Market Commentaries — Wed, 18 Nov 2009 16:02:25 +0000

Williams Companies Inc. (WMB) has filed an application with the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) to expand its Transco natural gas pipeline to serve markets in the southeastern United States. On approval from FERC, Williams expects the Mobile Bay South II Expansion project to provide services by spring 2011.

Through the expansion project, Williams expects to add 380,000 dekatherms of southbound, year-round firm transportation capacity on the Mobile Bay Lateral from Transco's mainline at Station 85 near Butler, Alabama, to its interconnect with Gulfstream Natural Gas System in Coden, Alabama.

Williams estimates that the project will require a compression addition of 8,180 horsepower at Transco compressor station 85 and facility modifications at Station 83. It expects the project facilities to cost approximately $36 million.

Recently, the company’s Mobile Bay natural gas processing plant returned to service, processing between 100 million and 200 million cubic feet per day with volumes, after shutting due to lost production from Tropical Storm Ida. The plant did not sustain any damage from the storm, which was downgraded to a tropical depression after coming ashore near Mobile, Alabama. The plant is capable of processing of about 700 million cubic feet of supply per day.

Williams is an energy firm that finds, produces, gathers, processes, and transports natural gas. The company divides its business into four segments: Exploration & Production, Midstream Gas & Liquids, Gas Pipeline, and Gas Marketing Services. The company’s operations are primarily concentrated in the Pacific Northwest, Rocky Mountains, Gulf Coast and Eastern Seaboard.

Read the full analyst report on "WMB"
Zacks Investment Research

SectorWatch.biz: Positive Trends in Oil Gas

Stuart T. Smith — Wed, 18 Nov 2009 14:57:42 +0000

IRVINE, Calif., Nov. 18, 2009 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — SectorWatch.biz announces the availability of a commentary of interest to investors in Lucas Energy, Inc. (NYSE Amex:LEI) and other oil & gas-related equities making news and driving markets today. Investors can view our free commentaries at: www.SectorWatch.biz — in association with FiSpace.net, a dynamic social networking site [...]

MarkWest Profit Lags Estimates – Analyst Blog

Zacks Market Commentaries — Tue, 17 Nov 2009 15:20:42 +0000

MarkWest Energy Partners L.P. (MWE), a master limited partnership (MLP), reported weaker-than-expected third quarter results. Earnings per unit came in at 13 cents, which fell way short of the year-ago result at $3.24 and also missed the Zacks Consensus Estimate of 15 cents. The year-over-year negative comparisons were due to sharply lower commodity prices. Revenue declined approximately 31.5% to $207.9 billion.

Distribution Maintained
MarkWest’s quarterly distribution of 64 cents per unit ($2.56 per unit annualized), remains unchanged from the year-earlier quarter and the previous quarter distribution. The distribution was paid on November 13 to unit-holders of record on November 2, 2009.

Distributable Cash Flow
During the quarter, the partnership generated distributable cash flow (DCF) of $40.3 million, down from $45.4 million in the prior-year quarter, providing 0.95x distribution coverage. The negative comparison reflects the significant decrease in commodity prices since August 2008.

Business Units
With regard to business units, the Southwest segment’s operating income decreased 7.7% from the year-ago level to $51.5 million, reflecting lower gathering systems throughput volumes from Foss Lake and Appleby facilities, partially offset by increased volumes processed at the East Texas facilities, rising natural gas liquids (NGL) product sales from the Arapaho gas processing plant, and contributions from the recently acquired Arkoma Connector Pipeline. The partnership continues to increase its gathering presence in southeast Oklahoma (in the Woodford Shale gathering system), where volumes were up approximately 37.7% to 389,100 thousand cubic feet per day (Mcf/d).

MarkWest’s Northeast segment’s operating profit slumped to $16.2 million, as against $24.9 million in the year-earlier quarter. The third quarter results suffered from a 2.8% drop in natural gas processed in the Appalachia area and a 6.9% decline in fee-based crude oil transportation. Additionally, lower commodity prices realized on NGL sales from the Appalachia region adversely affected the segment profitability.

Operating income from the Gulf Coast segment was down 49.0% year over year to $11.9 million, mainly due to steep decline in NGL prices.

Finally, MarkWest’s newest segment, Liberty (the partnership’s Marcellus Shale joint venture), reported a profit of $3.7 million.

Capital Expenditure & Balance Sheet
During the quarter, MarkWest spent approximately $66.9 million on growth capital projects (including equity investments), a decrease of $120.4 million, compared to the year-ago period. As of September 30, 2009, the partnership had long-term debt of approximately $1.2 billion, representing a debt-to-capitalization ratio of about 45.4%.

Guidance
Looking forward, management guided towards DCF of approximately $170 – $180 million for 2009. MarkWest’s capital plan for the year includes approximately $155 million of capital expenditures for growth projects, plus $5 million to $10 million for maintenance capital. For 2010, the partnership is expected to generate DCF in the $170 – $210 million. Growth capital expenditure is likely to be $300 million, while maintenance capital for 2010 is currently forecasted in a range of $10 – $15 million.
Read the full analyst report on "MWE"
Zacks Investment Research

Small Cap Voice Featured Company: Lucas Energy, Inc. (LEI)

QualityStocks — Mon, 16 Nov 2009 19:33:47 +0000

Lucas Energy, Inc. is a Houston, Texas based independent oil and gas company focused on identifying, evaluating and acquiring leasehold property interests, primarily in the Austin Chalk formation of the middle Gulf Coast of Texas, that are underperforming or have been shut-in or plugged and abandoned. Once acquired, the company revitalizes the properties by undertaking [...]

Oil Continues to Rise as the Dollar Falls

QualityStocks — Wed, 11 Nov 2009 16:25:02 +0000

Oil is a commodity that has steadily rose since December. Continuing its monumental climb, the commodity rose near $80 a barrel on Wednesday as the dollar continued to weaken, trumping a report pointing to a rise in U.S. oil inventories. While this trend may be confusing to the everyday investor, analysts have stated that the drastic [...]

TBC Global News Network’s Audio Interview With William A. Sawyer, President and CEO of Lucas Energy, Tonight at TBCtoday.com

Stuart T. Smith — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 00:21:58 +0000

Nov. 9, 2009 (Business Wire) — TBC Global News Network, Inc. (OTCBB: TGLN) – www.tbctoday.com, announced today that a new audio interview with William A. Sawyer, President and CEO of Lucas Energy, Inc. (Amex: LEI), an independent oil and gas company based in Houston, TX, will be available tonight at 6pm ET. The interview can [...]

Oil & Gas Industry – Industry Outlook

Zacks Market Commentaries — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 21:16:48 +0000

OUTLOOK

The improving economic scene, both here in the U.S. as well as worldwide, is the main driver of the current oil rally that has seen the commodity settling around the $80 per barrel level. But high levels of product inventories (particularly gasoline), along with still higher supplies, will limit any sustained crude gains, in our view. But way too many factors weigh on oil prices, from OPEC decisions and geostrategic tensions to the value of the U.S. dollar and seasonal variables, to definitively size up each one of them for their respective impact on prices.

In its latest release, the Energy Information Administration (EIA) reported a less-than-anticipated increase in crude stockpiles, which rose by 800,000 barrels for the week ending October 23. However, current crude oil stocks, at 339.9 million barrels, still remain 9% above the year-earlier level as well as above the upper limit of the average for this time of the year. As such, crude oil’s near-term fundamentals remain dismal, to say the least.

At current projections, world crude demand for 2009 is expected to be below last year’s level, which itself was below the 2007 level -- the first time since the early 1980’s of two back-to-back negative growth years.

Last month, the Paris-based International Energy Agency (IEA) provided some positive news in this otherwise bleak supply-demand picture. The energy-monitoring body of 28 industrialized countries hiked its global oil demand forecast for both this year and 2010 by 200,000 barrels per day and 350,000 barrels per day, respectively, citing higher-than-expected consumption in Asia and the Americas.

Our view is that oil should be able to hold onto its recent gains and consolidate around current levels, provided this favorable economic view remains in place. But this does not mean that we will not see any short-term pullbacks. On the whole, we expect oil prices in 2010 to be higher than the 2009 levels, but remain significantly below the 2008 peak levels.

Natural Gas

The overall picture remains particularly weak for natural gas, whose inventories have recently hit a new record high of 3.76 trillion cubic feet (Tcf) and is threatening to test the maximum capacity of 3.89 Tcf. Continued strong domestic production (from a number of unconventional natural gas fields) and recessionary consumption (due to the economic downturn), particularly in the industrial sector, are at the core of the commodity's current woes.

Natural gas prices rallied earlier last year, reaching over $13 per million Btu (MMBtu) in July 2008, before trending down to seven-year low level of sub-$2 per MMBtu (we are referring to Henry Hub spot prices here) in September 2009. This, together with tighter access to credit, has prompted producers to scale back drilling operations over the past few quarters.

The supply picture is expected to reverse in the coming months as the lag effect of the sharp drop in domestic drilling activity takes hold. But we do not think this would be enough to offset the record high inventories (storage levels remaining 12% above their five-year average) and steep recession-related cuts in demand. This translates into limited upside for natural gas-weighted companies and related support plays.

OPPORTUNITIES

The strengthening oil price environment should benefit producers, particularly those international players having attractive growth opportunities in their home markets. Two such standout names are China’s CNOOC Ltd. (CEO) and China Petroleum and Chemical Corporation, or Sinopec (SNP), both of which remain well-placed to benefit from the country’s growing appetite for energy.

CNOOC enjoys a monopoly on exploration activities in China’s very prospective offshore region in addition to having a growing presence in the country’s natural gas and LNG infrastructure. On the other hand, Sinopec is the second largest crude oil and natural gas producer, and the largest refiner and marketer of refined petroleum products in China. Sinopec’s leverage to the lucrative Chinese market and the recent $7.5 billion Addax acquisition is expected to help sustain its growth momentum.

Within the oilfield services group, we prefer to own companies such as Cameron International (CAM) that derives about two-thirds of its revenue from outside North America, thereby playing an offsetting role to the relatively soft U.S. drilling scene. Cameron recently posted better-than-expected third quarter results and raised its 2009 forecast, as a revival in energy prices led to improved drilling activities.

WEAKNESSES

We continue to feel strongly that industry players in the servicing and drilling ends of the business with substantial natural gas-focused and North America-centric operations should be avoided. A major sub-sector that fits that description is the onshore drillers. While we currently don't have any Underperform rated stocks in this group, we remain skeptical of land drillers like Nabors (NBR) and Patterson-UTI (PTEN), given the extent of excess capacity in the sector that is expected to weigh on dayrates and margins well into next year.

As expected, natural-gas woes in North America have pulled down the oilfield services companies' third-quarter results. In particular, we remain wary of service providers like Smith International Inc. (SII), given its high North American exposure (from the W-H Energy acquisition) in the face of a collapse in the region’s drilling activities. We have Neutral recommendation on the company, whose third quarter results came in significantly below expectations.

Within the E&P group, we see little reason for investors to own shares of Stone Energy Corp. (SGY). We believe that Stone’s asset portfolio, centered on the Gulf Coast/Gulf of Mexico regions and lacking meaningful exposure to the emerging shale plays, is not suited for the current environment of low commodity prices and restricted access to capital.

We also maintain our cautious view on oil refiners, given the higher-than-average gasoline and distillate stocks -- a combination that will continue to hurt their profitability going into 2010. Additionally, the sharply lower refinery utilization (at around 82% of capacity) provides enough evidence that refineries are cutting back on production because the economy is still struggling on the demand side.

Being the largest independent refiner, Valero Energy Corp. (VLO) remains particularly exposed to this unfavorable macro backdrop. We have an Underperform recommendation on the company.
Zacks Investment Research

Marathon Beats, Production Up – Analyst Blog

Zacks Market Commentaries — Tue, 03 Nov 2009 17:31:55 +0000

Marathon Oil Corporation’s (MRO) third-quarter 2009 results came in better-than-expected, helped by the contribution from increased oil and natural gas production. Earnings per share, excluding mark-to-market and divestment losses, came in at 61 cents, above the Zacks Consensus Estimate of 56 cents.

However, as has been the case with the other oil majors that have already reported -- Exxon (XOM), ConocoPhillips (COP) and Chevron (CVX) -- earnings and revenue comparisons with the year-earlier period were quite ugly, severely hampered by lower realized commodity prices and weak refining margins. Marathon’s adjusted earnings per share plunged 77.9%, while sales declined 37.9% to $14.5 billion.

Lower Prices More Than Offset Increased Upstream Volumes

Income from the upstream segment totaled $491 million during the quarter, down 43.5% from the year-ago level.

The company reported production (available for sale) of 393,000 oil-equivalent barrels per day (BOE/d), slightly below its interim guidance last month. However, this represents a 5% year-over-year production growth, reflecting the timing of international oil liftings.

Lower realized oil and natural gas prices offset the upstream volume gains. Marathon's worldwide realized crude oil price (from continuing operations) of $64.12 per barrel was 42.1% below the year-earlier level, while natural gas realizations (also from continuing operations) dropped 56.8% to $2.20 per thousand cubic feet (Mcf).

Downstream Margins Plunge

Margins in the refining business decreased significantly from the year-earlier levels, particularly in Marathon's core Midwest and Gulf Coast regions. The situation was further aggravated by narrower sweet/sour differentials. Marathon’s refining and marketing unit earned $158 million during the quarter, compared to $771 million last year -- reflecting weak margins and crack spreads.

The company's realized gross refining and wholesale marketing margin of approximately 7.6 cents per gallon was down markedly from last year's income of 25.2 cents per gallon. Total refined product sales volumes were up 3.2% from the year-earlier level to 1,400 thousand barrels per day, while throughput was up 4.0% to 1,190 thousand barrels per day.

Capital Expenditure

During the quarter, Marathon spent roughly $1.4 billion on capital programs (36% on E&P and 45% on Refining, Marketing and Transportation).

Strategic Sale

During the last few months, Marathon’s important strategic divestments include the sale of an undivided 20% participating interest in Angola Block 32, all of Marathon’s holdings in Ireland, interests in the Heimdal area offshore Norway and interests in the Permian Basin in Texas and New Mexico. Most recently, the company entered into a definitive agreement to sell its wholly owned subsidiary in Gabon.

These sales are part of the company's $2 billion to 4 billion asset divestiture program announced last March. The company has already made $3.5 billion worth of dispositions.

We currently rate Marathon shares as Neutral, expecting the stock to perform in-line with the broader market.
Read the full analyst report on "MRO"
Read the full analyst report on "XOM"
Read the full analyst report on "COP"
Read the full analyst report on "CVX"
Zacks Investment Research

A New Audio Interview with William A. Sawyer, President and CEO of Lucas Energy, is Now at SmallCapVoice.com

Stuart T. Smith — Tue, 03 Nov 2009 15:32:32 +0000

AUSTIN, Texas–(BUSINESS WIRE)–SmallCapVoice.com, Inc. announced today that a new audio interview with Lucas Energy, Inc. (NYSE Amex:LEI), an independent oil and gas company based in Houston, Texas, is now available. The interview can be heard at http://smallcapvoice.com/blog/11-2-09-audio-interview-with-lucas-energy-inc-nyse-amex-lei/. SmallCapVoice.com is a recognized corporate investor relations firm, with clients nationwide, known for its ability to help emerging growth [...]

AKAM, CPE, DTCT, DrStockPick.com Watch List! for Thursday October 29, 2009, Akamai Technologies Inc., Callon Petroleum Co. and Diatect International Corp., DTCT.OB

Dr. Stock Pick — Thu, 29 Oct 2009 00:29:26 +0000

Dr Stock Pick HOT News & Alerts! _________________________________________ FREE Daily Stock Alerts From DrStockPick.com _________________________________________ DrStockPick.com Watch List! My Picks for Thursday October 29, 2009, are: ************************************************************** AKAM, Akamai Technologies Inc. AKAM provides market-leading managed services for powering video, dynamic transactions, and enterprise applications online. AKAM’s Revenue for the third quarter 2009 was $206.5 million, a 5 percent increase over third quarter 2008 [...]

Valero Loss Bigger than Expected – Analyst Blog

Zacks Market Commentaries — Tue, 27 Oct 2009 17:07:52 +0000

Earlier today, Valero Energy Corp. (VLO) -- the largest independent refiner in the U.S. -- reported a weaker-than-expected third-quarter 2009 loss, reflecting depressed refining margins and lower throughput on the back of weak fuel demand and high inventories. This was partially offset by lower operating costs. The loss per share, excluding one-time items, came in at 39 cents, well below the Zacks Consensus Estimate of 26 cents.

In the year-ago period, the Texas-based marketer of petroleum products earned $1.91 per share. Revenue was down 45.8% year-over-year to $19.5 billion. Operating loss for the quarter was $579 million ($162 million excluding one-time items), compared to operating income of $1.8 billion ($1.6 billion excluding one-time items) in the year-earlier quarter. The main factors causing the operating loss were lower diesel and jet fuel margins, coupled with smaller discounts on sour crude oil and other feedstocks.

Throughput Volumes

Throughput volumes during the quarter were 2.38 million barrels per day, down more than 8% year over year, primarily reflecting reduction in sour crude volumes.

By feedstock composition, heavy sour crude, medium/light sour crude and sweet crude accounted for 19%, 23% and 29% of the total, respectively. The remaining volumes came from residuals, blend-stocks and other feedstocks.

The Gulf Coast accounted for approximately 52% of total volumes. The Mid-continent, the Northeast and the West Coast regions accounted for 16%, 20% and 12% of the total, respectively.

Throughput Margins

Company-wide throughput margins decreased nearly 63% year-over-year to $4.86 per barrel, as all regions witnessed substantially reduced margins. Average throughput margin realized in the Gulf Coast, Mid-Continent, Northeast and West Coast regions were $4.66 per barrel (down almost 65% year-over-year), $5.38 per barrel (down more than 59%), $2.86 per barrel (down nearly 79%) and $8.51 per barrel (down approximately 27%), respectively.

Costs

Cash operating cost per barrel was $3.94 during the quarter, down from $4.78 in the year-ago period. However, the unit depreciation and amortization expenses increased to $1.58 per barrel from $1.39 per barrel in the third quarter of 2008.

Capital Expenditure & Balance Sheet

Third-quarter capital spending totaled $521 million, of which $52 million was for turnarounds. At the end of the quarter, the company had cash and cash equivalents of approximately $1.6 billion and total debt of approximately $7.4 billion.

Company Initiatives

Given the weak refining margin environment, Valero has taken certain strategic actions to improve the company’s performance and competitiveness in a cost-effective manner. As part of this effort, during the most recent quarter, Valero extended the shutdown of its Aruba refinery and streamlined operations at the Delaware City refinery.

Further, this month the company has begun a concentrated effort to reduce costs at its Paulsboro refinery. Management informed that it has been taking advantage of the company’s refining flexibility by shifting feedstocks and operating rates to maximize profitability.

Outlook

We believe that the overall environment for refining margins is likely to remain poor going into 2010. The sharply lower refinery utilization (at just 81.1% of capacity) provides enough evidence that refineries are cutting back on production because the economy is still struggling on the demand side.

The recent rally in crude prices have added to refiners’ miseries by increasing the cost of oil they buy to make gas, jet fuel and other refined products. Being the largest independent refiner, Valero remains particularly exposed to this unfavorable macro backdrop. We see little reason for investors to own Valero and have an Underperform recommendation on the company.
Read the full analyst report on "VLO"
Zacks Investment Research

Dune Energy, Inc. (DNE) Provides Operations Update

QualityStocks — Thu, 22 Oct 2009 17:39:27 +0000

Dune Energy provided an exploration and development operations update on its leased acreage in Texas and Louisiana. The update reported successful wells at several locations. On its Texas acreage, the Wieting #32 well was drilled to a total depth of 12,750 feet, and hit 50 feet of gas bearing sands. The well is [...]

RRC Ahead on Shale Plays – Analyst Blog

Zacks Market Commentaries — Fri, 16 Oct 2009 17:49:29 +0000

Range Resources Corporation (RRC) on Wednesday provided its third quarter production results. Total volumes were 437 MMcfe (millions of cubic feet equivalent) per day, up 13% year over year. Despite selling its Fuhrman Mascho Field (production of 15 MMcfe per day) in West Texas at the end of June, the company recorded a 0.8% sequential production increase in the reported quarter. Notably, it was 27th consecutive quarter of sequential production increase.

Production results in the quarter were driven by excellent drilling performance in the Barnett and the Marcellus shale plays. Range’s Marcellus Shale production is currently about 80 MMcfe/d and the company is heading towards a target of 90 MMcfe/d to 100 MMcfe/d by the end of this year. Production in Barnett Shale averaged at 123 MMcfe/d.

Range is currently running four horizontal Marcellus rigs and is expected to enter 2010 with six custom-built horizontal rigs. During the fourth quarter of the current year, the company expects to drill approximately 20 additional horizontal wells and carry over 20 wells for completion in 2010.

While we expect Barnett and Marcellus shale production to grow significantly over the next two years, other assets including the Mid-Continent, Permian, the Nora field and the Gulf Coast will remain relatively flat.

We like Range’s Marcellus Shale exposure and believe that it is appropriately reflected in its valuation. With the company’s sound operating track record and large inventory of potential, we think it should continue to trade at a premium to the group. As such, we recommend a Neutral rating for the stock.
Read the full analyst report on "RRC"
Zacks Investment Research

Chaparral Energy and United Refining Energy Corp. (URX) Announce Merger

QualityStocks — Wed, 14 Oct 2009 14:07:51 +0000

Yesterday, privately-owned Chaparral Energy, Inc. and publicly held United Refining Energy Corp. jointly announced that they have entered into a merger agreement. The combined company will be named Chaparral Energy, Inc. and will remain trading on the NYSE Amex until approval of a planned application to transfer listing to the NYSE. Once transferred, the company [...]

Chevron’s Positive Upstream Update – Analyst Blog

Zacks Market Commentaries — Fri, 09 Oct 2009 15:28:40 +0000

Yesterday, after the market close, Chevron Corp. (CVX) released its third-quarter interim update, covering the first two months of the quarter. On the whole, the update is positive, with earnings expected to be higher than in the previous quarter.

The company expects the upstream segment to benefit from an increase in crude oil prices as well as from gains of about $400 million associated with asset sales and tax items. Downstream results are likely to be relatively flat, as it continues to be hurt by weak refining margins. Chevron further said that unfavorable foreign currency movements will affect the segment profitability.

Upstream

The best part of the update pertained to upstream volumes, highlighting Chevron’s attractive growth profile among the super-majors. The company reported that oil and natural gas production average 2.687 million oil-equivalent barrels per day – better than estimates and nearly 10% above the third-quarter 2008 level. Compared to the second quarter of 2009, production would be up by about a percentage.

In the first two months of the third quarter, Chevron’s total domestic oil equivalent production increased 41,000 barrels per day from second-quarter levels, driven by the startup of its Tahiti platform in the Gulf of Mexico. The net international oil equivalent production, however, fell by 24,000 barrels per day from the quarter before, mainly due to civil unrest in Nigeria.

U.S. crude price realizations during July-August 2009 averaged $62.47 per barrel, up from $53.21 in the second quarter, while international realizations were up $8.52 to $61.69 per barrel. Domestic realized natural gas prices for this period averaged at $3.47 per thousand cubic feet (Mcf), compared with $3.27 in the second quarter. Average international natural gas realizations were up $0.23 per Mcf to $3.96.

Downstream

Regarding downstream operations, the second-largest U.S. oil company after ExxonMobil Corp. (XOM) said that its U.S. refinery crude-input fell 55,000 barrels per day (nearly 6%) from the previous quarter, reflecting planned maintenance at the company’s Richmond refinery in California. Ex-U.S., refinery crude-input volumes were up 25,000 barrels per day following planned second quarter maintenance at the Yeosu refinery in South Korea.

Chevron, however, cautioned that its international downstream results are likely to be lower due to absence of gains from sales of its marketing businesses in Kenya and Cameroon, coupled with unfavorable tax effects.

Third-quarter refining margins rose by 95 cents per barrel sequentially on the U.S. West Coast, but fell 92 cents per barrel on the Gulf Coast.

Chevron plans to release its quarterly results on October 30, 2009.
Read the full analyst report on "CVX"
Read the full analyst report on "XOM"
Zacks Investment Research

Shell to Raise Natural Gas Volume – Analyst Blog

Zacks Market Commentaries — Thu, 08 Oct 2009 16:00:00 +0000

Despite the low natural gas prices, Royal Dutch Shell (RDS.A) intends to increase its natural gas production in North America. The company has marked its deepwater discoveries in the Gulf of Mexico as well as from giant shale formations in western Canada, the Rockies and the Gulf Coast for this production growth.

While the company declined to say how much the expected North American gas production to grow, it believes that long-term natural gas prices will recover. Royal Dutch Shell has a leading position in natural gas.

The company is the second largest natural gas producer in the world and has led its super major peers in monetizing its substantial worldwide equity natural gas resource base by investing in liquefied natural gas (LNG) and Gas-to-Liquids (GtL) technologies. Royal Dutch Shell has emerged as a clear leader in the fast-growing LNG business.

The group continues to invest in LNG assets and plans to increase its LNG capacity significantly in the next few years. The group’s results have already started benefiting from its new LNG capacities in Nigeria and Oman.

In the U.S., the company has been involved in the development of Great White, Tobago and Silvertip fields (Shell share between 33% and 40%) located in the GoM. Additionally, last year’s acquisition of Calgary-based conventional gas and oil exploration and production company (Duvernay Oil Corporation) had also expanded Shell’s portfolio in Canada.

While we view Shell’s strategy to increase natural gas production is a right step, it remains to be seen how the company moves toward achieving top-quartile performance. Our Neutral rating for the stock remains unchanged.
Read the full analyst report on "RDS.A"
Zacks Investment Research

EXXI, VIP, MDCO Stock-PR Stock Headlines September 4, 2009

Stock-PR — Fri, 04 Sep 2009 12:07:09 +0000

Energy XXI (Bermuda) Limited (EXXI) Gulf Coast, Inc. (the “Company”) today September 4, 2009 announced it has commenced an exchange offer and consent solicitation in respect of its 10% Senior Notes due 2013 (the “Senior Notes”). The Company has commenced an offer to exchange up to $360 million principal amount outstanding Senior Notes properly tendered (and [...]

APD Buys New Hydrogen Plant – Analyst Blog

Zacks Market Commentaries — Wed, 02 Sep 2009 20:00:26 +0000

Air Products (APD) acquired a new steam methane reformer (SMR) hydrogen facility from MarkWest Energy Partners L.P. (MWE). The facility, which is under construction, is in Corpus Christi, Texas. The company did not disclose the financial details of the transaction.

This acquisition further reinforces Air Products’ position as a leading hydrogen provider in the U.S. Gulf Coast. The company said that the new facility, which is expected to be operational in March 2010, will produce over 30 million standard cubic feet per day. It will be owned and operated by Air Products.

The companies also signed a separate long-term supply agreement whereby Air Products will provide hydrogen and steam to MarkWest.

Earlier this year, Air Products strengthened its U.S. Gulf Coast hydrogen pipeline network with the successful completion of a pipeline connection across Lake Pontchartrain. The company said that this enhances the supply reliability and efficiency to its own liquid hydrogen production plant in New Orleans, which is the largest liquid hydrogen facility in the world. In addition, Air Products is in the process of building two new steam methane reformers in the Louisiana portion of its Gulf Coast system.

Air Products has hydrogen pipeline networks operating around the world, including in Southern California, U.S., in Sarnia, Ontario, and Edmonton, Alberta in Canada, and in Rotterdam in The Netherlands.

During the second quarter conference call, the company said that the refinery hydrogen volumes continued to increase. Further, the company expects these volumes to increase modestly from the current levels across most of its pipeline franchises, due to higher demand and fewer customer outages.
Read the full analyst report on "APD"
Read the full analyst report on "MWE"
Zacks Investment Research

ORN, PGNE, PennyOmega.com Watch List ! for Wednesday September 2nd, 2009, Orion Marine Group Inc. and PrimeGen Energy Corp, PGNE.PK

PennyOmega.com — Wed, 02 Sep 2009 00:37:40 +0000

ORN, Orion Marine Group Inc. PGNE, PrimeGen Energy Corp, PGNE.PK PennyOmega.com Watch List! PennyOmega.com Watch List ! for Wednesday September 2nd, 2009 Our Picks at PennyOmega.com for Wednesday September 2nd, 2009 are: ************************************************************** ORN, Orion Marine Group Inc. ORN provides a broad range of marine construction and specialty services on, over and under the water along the Gulf Coast, the Atlantic Seaboard [...]

Newfield to Scale Back Production – Analyst Blog

Zacks Market Commentaries — Wed, 26 Aug 2009 21:30:55 +0000

Recently, Newfield Exploration Co. (NFX) – an independent energy firm – announced plans to cut back its third quarter natural gas production by about 2.5 billion cubic feet equivalent (Bcfe), on wells in the company's Mid-Continent division. The curtailments (roughly 4% of the company’s production guidance of 62.9–70.0 Bcfe) are in response to current low natural gas prices. Newfield, however, maintained its 2009 production guidance of 250–260 Bcfe, a 6% to 10% increase over 2008 production of approximately 236 Bcfe

In recent months, natural gas prices have remained weak as a result of recession-related reduction in demand and abundant U.S. production. Prices rallied earlier last year, reaching over $13 per million Btu (MMBtu) in July 2008, before trending down. They have since dropped sharply to the current level of $3.02 per MMBtu (Henry Hub spot price). Since most of Newfield’s reserves (roughly 70%) are tied up in natural gas, the company’s results are particularly exposed to fluctuations in this market.

Despite these headwinds, the company managed to post better-than-expected second-quarter earnings (topping the Zacks Consensus Estimate by 20 cents), driven by a combination of effective cost reductions and improving efficiencies in drilling and completions. Newfield’s strong hedge position in 2009–2010 also gives it an advantage in this challenging environment.

However, the company is unlikely to outperform its peer group given its traditional high-cost asset base and relatively weak balance sheet. The company’s domestic asset base is centered on the Rockies and Gulf Coast regions and has limited exposure to the more desirable shale plays. The lack of meaningful exposure to the emerging shale plays is a competitive disadvantage, in our view. Therefore, our Neutral recommendation remains unchanged.
Read the full analyst report on "NFX"
Zacks Investment Research

Apache Inks Egypt Energy Deals – Analyst Blog

Zacks Market Commentaries — Mon, 24 Aug 2009 22:37:10 +0000

Last week, Egypt’s Oil Ministry said that the country has signed three oil and gas exploration agreements with U.S. energy company Apache Corporation (APA). The deals, which involve digging a total of 14 wells in three areas of Egypt’s Western Desert, are valued at $30 million. Apache would work in partnership with state-run Egyptian General Petroleum Corporation (EGPC) and Egyptian energy firm Tharwa Petroleum Company.

The first of the agreements is worth $15 million and calls for Apache to drill six oil and gas wells in Western Desert’s Siwa Oasis. The second and third deals are valued at $7.5 million each and entail digging four wells in Gharb Ghazalat and another four in Saloum, both in the Western Desert.

We believe that the latest initiatives, if successful, will boost Apache’s growth prospects in Egypt by adding to its existing interests in the country. Apache is the largest foreign operator in the Western Desert and has already made a string of discoveries in the region this year.

Founded in 1954, Houston-based Apache Corporation is one of the world's leading independent energy companies engaged in the exploration, development and production of natural gas, crude oil and natural gas liquids. Approximately 61% of the company’s proved reserves and 54% of its production comes from North America, where its operations are focused in the Gulf of Mexico, the Gulf Coast, East Texas, the Permian basin, the Anadarko basin, the Western Sedimentary basin of Canada and internationally.

We currently rate Apache Corporation shares as Neutral.
Read the full analyst report on "APA"
Zacks Investment Research

PennyOmega.com Stock Report! 7/30/09, SO, ARSD, LXP, NOC, SCS, AIPC

PennyOmega.com — Thu, 30 Jul 2009 15:28:51 +0000

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Poor Q2 Results for Valero – Analyst Blog

Zacks Market Commentaries — Wed, 29 Jul 2009 20:00:00 +0000

Valero Energy Corporation (VLO) -- the largest refining company in the U.S. -- posted a second-quarter net loss of $0.48 per share on July 28. This compares to a net income of $1.37 per share in the year-earlier quarter.

Bulky fuel inventories, weak demand, and depressed refining margins weighed on Valero’s results.

Revenue fell drastically to $17.9 billion, compared to $36.6 billion in the year-ago quarter. Operating loss for the quarter was $317 million, compared to operating income of $1.2 billion in the year-earlier quarter. Lower sour crude oil differentials and poor diesel as well as jet fuel margins were the main reasons behind the operating loss.

Throughput volumes

Throughput volumes during the quarter were 2.49 million barrels per day, down more than 9% year over year. This was primarily due to the reduction in sour crude volumes.

By feedstock composition, heavy sour crude, medium/light sour crude, and sweet crude accounted for 18%, 23% and 29% of the total, respectively. The remaining volumes came from residuals, blend-stocks, and other feedstocks.

The Gulf Coast accounted for approximately 56% of total volumes. The Mid-continent, the Northeast, and the West Coast regions accounted for 15%, 18% and 11% of the total, respectively.

Throughput margins

Company-wide throughput margin decreased more than 57% year over year to $4.64 per barrel as all regions witnessed declined margins. Average throughput margin realized in the Gulf Coast, Mid-Continent, Northeast and West Coast regions were $3.94 per barrel (down nearly 70% year-over-year), $6.03 per barrel (down more than 23%), $2.88 per barrel (down more than 50%) and $9.03 per barrel (down more than 24%), respectively.

Costs

Cash operating cost per barrel was $4.30 during the quarter, down from $4.53 in the year-ago quarter. However, the unit depreciation and amortization expenses increased to $1.53 per barrel from $1.35 per barrel in the year-ago quarter.

Valero recently closed its Aruba refinery particularly for significant poor margins. Management hinted that they will continue to observe other refineries for situations in which it makes economic sense to slow or shut down specific units or the entire plant.

A combination of weak demand, excess production capacity, and narrowing crude quality spreads are expected to weigh on near-term margins. Crude quality spread is the price differential between light/heavy and sweet/sour grades of crude oil.

The medium to long-term outlook also remains cloudy, with unfavorable regulatory changes weighing on demand growth and limiting margin gains. Being the largest independent refiner, Valero remains particularly exposed to this unfavorable macro backdrop. Our Sell recommendation remains unchanged at this stage.

Read the full analyst report on "VLO"
Zacks Investment Research

Lower Prices Hurt Cabot – Analyst Blog

Zacks Market Commentaries — Fri, 24 Jul 2009 14:03:50 +0000

Yesterday, independent energy exploration and production (E&P) company Cabot Oil and Gas (COG) reported second-quarter results. Earnings per diluted share, excluding non-recurring items, came in at $0.38, outperforming our expectations of $0.35 and market expectations of $0.33. The Houston-based company’s better-than-expected profits were driven by increased production in its East and Gulf Coast regions.

However, on a year-over-year basis, Cabot’s adjusted earnings per share declined 46.5%, while revenue was down 17.7% to $204.8 million. The decline from the year-ago quarter can be attributed to lower commodity price realizations.

Overall production volumes during the quarter were 25.6 billion cubic feet equivalent (Bcfe), up more than 10% from the previous-year period. Natural gas volumes were up nearly 10% year-over-year to 24.3 billion cubic feet (Bcf) and oil volumes were up more than 4% to 198 thousand barrels (MBbl).

Strength in natural gas production was driven mainly by the East and the Gulf Coast regions, where volumes rose by 42.4% and 20.8%, respectively. A more than 8% increase in Gulf Coast production was responsible for the year-over-year rise in oil volumes.

Average realized natural gas price (including the impact of hedges) was down more than 22% to $7.25 per thousand cubic feet (Mcf), while average oil price realization was down more than 15% to $83.76 per barrel.

Net wells drilled during the quarter reduced to 28, with a 100% success rate. Operating cash flows were $147.9 million for the quarter, while capital expenditures were $121.9 million. As of June 30, the company had $815 million long-term debt, with a debt-to-capitalization ratio of 30.7%.

During the earnings release, Cabot also announced the completion of four horizontal gas wells in three different reservoirs and said it raised its 2009 investment program by 5.3% to $500 million. The increased amount has been earmarked for more activity in the company’s East Texas and Marcellus shale properties.

Cabot’s production gains during the quarter highlights the growth momentum from the company’s drilling efforts. The independent natural gas producer is also poised to benefit from the recent gains on the commodity front and the improving outlook for the economy.

We, however, think that these positives are adequately reflected in current valuation, leaving little room for meaningful upside from current levels. As such, we are maintaining our Hold recommendation on Cabot shares.
Read the full analyst report on "COG"
Zacks Investment Research

STDF Steadfast Holdings Group, Inc. Hires Builder and Contracts for First Nine Residential Units (DrStockPick News Report!)

Dr. Stock Pick — Tue, 21 Jul 2009 12:04:23 +0000

STDF, Steadfast Holdings Group Inc, STDF.PK DrStockPick Stock Report! DrStockPick News Report! STDF, Steadfast Holdings Group Inc, STDF.PK “Steadfast Holdings Group, Inc. Hires Builder and Contracts for First Nine Residential Units“ DrStockPick Stock Report! Tuesday July 21, 2009 “Steadfast Holdings Group, Inc. Hires Builder and Contracts for First Nine Residential Units“ East Haven, CT - (WORLD STOCK WIRE) - July 20, [...]

STDF.PK Stock-PR Press Release for Steadfast Holdings Group, Inc.

Stock-PR — Mon, 20 Jul 2009 18:29:36 +0000

CRWENewswire - Steadfast Holdings Group, Inc. (OTC Pink Sheets: STDF) through its Banx and Green Group, Inc. subsidiary has completed an agreement with Peter Waxman to build homes using environmentally, energy efficient structurally insulated panels (SIPS). The Company has been offered an option to purchase PeterBuilt Homes LLC. Mr. Waxman is a licensed contractor active in [...]

ESP Resources Inc. (ESPI.OB) is “One to Watch”

QualityStocks — Tue, 30 Jun 2009 17:35:09 +0000

ESP Resources, Inc. is an oil and gas company headquartered in Austin, Texas. Founded in 2006, the company, through their wholly owned subsidiary, ESP Petrochemicals, Inc., is a manufacturer, blender, distributor, and marketer of specialty chemicals to the oil and gas industry. Trading on NASDAQ’s OTCBB, they have operations in Scott, Louisiana, and Pecos County, [...]

Boeing & USAF: The Plot Thickens! – Analyst Blog

Zacks Market Commentaries — Thu, 18 Jun 2009 18:41:59 +0000

Boeing and the USAF Tanker Program: The Plot Thickens!

Boeing (BA) apparently is considering proposing on the upcoming USAF Tanker Program re-bid with versions of two of its models -- the 767 and the 777 -- in the hopes that one of them will be selected over the single Northrop Grumman (NOC)/Airbus A330-based submittal. The following is provided for those of you interested in the specifications -- and the differences -- between the three aircraft (for the Boeing 777-based version, we have used data for the 777 Freighter as being probably closest to the final configuration):

In case you've forgotten, the current KC-767 has no cargo capacity, as it is solely an aerial-refueling tanker, which is what Boeing may have thought USAF wanted during the last tanker tussle. Instead, USAF picked a version of the A330 MRTT -- an aircraft with cargo capability -- which means it can also be configured as a troop carrier, which may be one of the reasons USAF doesn't want any more C-17s.

It's all becoming clearer now: if you're not going to buy KC-767s and you're not going to procure more C-17s, the least USAF can do is buy KC-777s. Not only that, but Boeing reportedly is thinking about producing the KC-777 aerial tanker in Everett, which would make most of us living in Western Washington State a bit happier than even the last thirty days without rain have done.

If you take a look at the specifications, you will notice that the A330 MRTT is sandwiched in between the KC-767 and KC-777. However, if USAF wants a multipurpose aircraft with the most capability, the KC-777 is quite possibly the aircraft of choice.

In any event, the re-bid is a happening thing, and we may soon know if U.S. commercial aircraft production will continue to be centered in the Pacific Northwest or will begin to shift to the Gulf Coast -- for if the A330 MRTT wins, it will be completed in Mobile, Alabama...and once Airbus has a toe-hold in the USA, there's no telling what comes next.

Incidentally, USAF's version of the A330 MRTT was ultimately dubbed the KC-45, so as to not confuse it with anyone else's A330 MRTT tankers.

Let the bidding begin!
Read the full analyst report on "BA"
Read the full analyst report on "NOC"
Zacks Investment Research

Basic Earth Science Systems Inc. (BSIC.OB) Announces Completion of North Dakota Well in Bakken Formation

QualityStocks — Mon, 15 Jun 2009 13:28:28 +0000

Independent oil and gas exploration and production company Basic Earth Science Systems Inc. recently updated shareholders on its Roscoe 2H-8 well in the Banks Prospect in eastern McKenzie County, N.D. The company announced the well went into production in early May 2009, testing at a rate of 543 barrels of oil, 1,185 thousand cubic feet [...]

Debt restructuring in the Frontier

Jason G. Wulterkens — Mon, 25 May 2009 23:13:45 +0000

Interesting article from April 24th’s Investment Dealers’ Digest (IDD) regarding Houlihan Lokey (“From Century City To Baghdad”, subscription required), a middle-market investment bank whose restructuring practice has given it an international reputation, and whose decision to rebuff various bulge-bracket suitors over the past decade or so now looks increasingly prudent. In addition to working with the [...]

Stocks For An Economic Recovery – Utilities

Bullish Bankers — Sat, 16 May 2009 11:00:25 +0000

As the economy begins its comeback, the utilities companies that will benefit the most are the ones whose stock prices have suffered for being located in poor housing markets and those with significant counter-party risk. These companies lack the stability an investor looks for in utilities companies during a time of economic hardship. However, as [...]

Top Performer for Thursday: Orion Marine Group (OMGI) – Zacks #1 Rank Top Performers

James Giaquinto — Thu, 07 May 2009 05:00:00 +0000

Orion Marine Group, Inc. (OMGI) is the only company from the Building - Heavy Construction industry on today's 225-stock Zacks #1 Rank List, and it's also a top performer with shares jumping approximately 13% after a solid first-quarter performance.

OMGI provides a broad range of marine construction and specialty services on, over and under the water along the Gulf Coast, the Atlantic Seaboard and the Caribbean Basin. It acts as a single source turn-key solution for its customers' marine contracting needs.

The company earned 20 cents per share in the quarter, compared to the consensus at 17 cents. That more than 17% difference follows a surprise of 25% in the preceding fourth quarter. For the first quarter of 2008, earnings per share reached 13 cents.

Meanwhile, contract revenues jumped 33.2% to $70 million, as it continued to see good demand for its turn-key services with increased activity on the federal side and continued good bid opportunities for the future.

For 2009, OMGI is tracking potential bid opportunities of $4 billion to $4.5 billion, of which about $1.2 billion could be liquidated this year.

"Given where we are today, contracts we have recently signed, and the revenue opportunities we see for the remainder of 2009, we remain comfortable with our full year goals and expect to see continued growth in the future," said President and CEO Mike Pearson. "However, we remain in uncertain economic times and therefore, we will continue to be vigilant about the state of our end markets."

Earnings estimates for this year have advanced 4.5% over the past 3 months to 92 cents per share, which includes a gain of about 1% in 30 days on the back of an upgrade from 1 of 4 covering analysts.

The current consensus for next year is at $1.13, or about 23% better than the current consensus for this year, suggesting a positive trend past this year.

Thus far today, OMGI has traded more than 500,000 shares, which is a sharp increase in activity over the average of almost 297,000.

Zacks Investment Research

The U.S. Housing Market: Is it Time to Start Buying Real Estate?

Contrarian Profits — Wed, 29 Apr 2009 20:24:33 +0000

pI never thought an 18.6% decline could actually represent good news. But in an example of how desperate we’ve become for it - particularly concerning the U.S. housing market - many have jumped on the fact that it was the first time in 16 months that U.S. home prices didn’t drop by a new record. Wow… where’s that champagne? /p pAccording to the latest S#38;P/Case-Shiller Home Price Index, U.S. home prices fell an annualized 18.6% in February, compared with February 2008 - and a 0.4% improvement on the 19% drop in January./p pSome have speculated that this news means we’ve hit the bottom and the market will now begin to trend upwards again./p pNot so fast. Those folks must either be eternal optimists or#8230;/p

Chevron’s Mixed Guidance – Analyst Blog

Zacks Market Commentaries — Mon, 13 Apr 2009 20:00:57 +0000

After the market close on Thursday, Chevron Corp. (CVX) released its first-quarter interim update, covering the first two months of the quarter. On the whole, the update is mixed, with excellent operational performance and production growth offset by weak commodity-price realizations.

The best part of the update pertained to upstream volumes, highlighting Chevron's "growthy" profile among the super-majors. The company reported that oil and natural gas production average 2.645 million oil-equivalent barrels per day -- better than our estimate and 1.8% above the first-quarter 2008 level. Compared to the fourth quarter of 2008, production would be up an impressive 4%. We remain comfortable that the company can sustain this operational momentum, which puts it on track to meet its production target for the year.

But the production gains are more than offset by lower-than-expected realized prices for crude oil and natural gas. Refining margins have also been lower. Through the first two months of the quarter, the company's domestic realized oil price averaged $33.37 per barrel, compared to benchmark oil prices of $40.49 per barrel.

Compared to the fourth and first quarters of 2008, the company's realized oil price is down 35.1% and 62.8%, respectively. Realized natural gas prices are down 14.9% sequentially and 41.1% year over year. Refining margins improved in the U.S. West Cost, but declined in the Gulf Coast, while U.S. marketing margins were down across the board.

Given these commodity-price realizations, first quarter 2009 results do not compare favorably either with expectations or year-earlier results. We expect negative earnings revisions to accelerate for the entire group, not just Chevron.
Read the full analyst report on "CVX"
Zacks Investment Research

New Jersey Resources Corporation – Value – Zacks Rank Buy

Tracey Ryniec — Fri, 06 Mar 2009 05:00:00 +0000

New Jersey Resources Corporation (NJR), the utility company, recently raised 2009 guidance. The company is also making a statement about its financial health as it actually increased its dividend by 10.7% for 2009. NJR is trading at 12.8x forward earnings.

Company Description

New Jersey Resources provides natural gas and energy services to customers in New Jersey and other states from the Gulf Coast to New England, as well as Canada. The company delivers natural gas through 6,500 miles of main to 500,000 customers.

New Jersey Resources has three business segments: New Jersey Natural Gas, NJR Home Services and NJR Energy Services.

New Jersey Natural Gas provides gas to about 500,000 New Jersey customers. NJR Home Services services home-appliances through sales and installations. Technicians install an service natural gas furnaces, hot water heaters, grills, outdoor lights nad air central air conditioning units.

NJR Energy Services provides wholesale energy services in New Jersey but also in states throughout the eastern seaboard and Canada. The segment provides delivery and storage of natural gas.

NJ Natural Gas Earnings Jumped 38% in the First Quarter 2009

On Feb 4, New Jersey Resources reported first-quarter 2009 earnings which fell from a year ago. Earnings per share were 76 cents compared to 87 cents in the year ago period. The company also missed on estimates, as analysts expected 85 cents.

NJ Natural Gas was the top performing segment as net income rose 38% to $23.1 million from $16.7 million in first quarter of 2008. The growth was the result of the resolution of the base rate case and higher gross margin from incentive programs. Customer growth remained steady, as the NJNG added 1,763 new customers in the quarter.

NJR Energy Services saw profit fall to $9.4 million from $19.1 million in the year ago period. The company expected the decrease, which was primarily due to narrower winter storage spreads and less contracted transportation capacity in the Northeast.

The company is bullish on the future of the Energy Services segment. It expects NJRES to account for between 30 and 35% of earnings for the year, the third highest level in its history.

Shareholders See 10.7% Dividend Increase

In Nov 2008, New Jersey Resources announced it was raising the dividend 10.7% to 31 cents from 28 cents per share. The new rate was effective as of Jan 2, 2009 for shareholders of record on Dec 15, 2008.

The stock is currently yielding 3.50%.

2009 Guidance Increased

On Feb 4, the company raised its 2009 earnings guidance to the range of $2.32 to $2.42 per share from its prior guidance of $2.30 to $2.40. New Jersey Resources is forecasting stronger-than-expected utility results.

Consensus Estimates Rise

Given the company's upward guidance revision, covering analysts have been raising estimates on the second quarter and full-year 2009. Second quarter estimates rose 7 cents to $1.99 per share in the last 30 days.

Full-year estimates climbed 2 cents to $2.37 in the last month.

Value Fundamentals

New Jersey Resources is a Zacks #1 Rank (strong buy) stock. It has surprised on estimates 2 out of the last 4 quarters.

NJR is trading with a forward P/E of 12.77. Its price-to-book is 1.88. The company has a 5-year average return on equity (ROE) of 14.75%.

Zacks Investment Research

Aspire Misery Index for the Week Ended February 13, 2009

Small Cap Pulse — Sat, 14 Feb 2009 20:39:00 +0000

January 13 - We have to say that the pace of dour news slowed a bit this week, a trend that we are hopeful will continue. However, there is still much misery out there, and expectations are that the underlying fundamentals of the U.S. economy will continue to erode as businesses circle the wagons around their cash positions and remaining available credit, which will result in more jobs lost. Our expectations for this recession are for it to run pretty deep in light of the fact that there is so much consumer infrastructure built in the U.S. which just needs to be shut down as consumers, we hope, begin finding more of a balance and start saving. Savings rates as a percentage of disposable income have fallen in recent years to 0.4% and when consumer credit gets factored in, it turns negative. This was an unsustainable pace. We are hopeful that Washington is learning the lessons and will begin advocating a more balanced approach for the nation. Obamarsquo;s stimulus plan seems to get it, because if consumers, who represent more than 70% of GDP arenrsquo;t going to be the ones that get economy kick-started again, government investments in infrastructure just may. And at least in this case this is a move towards investments in asset bases like our energy infrastructure, which just may create more jobs down the road. middot;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp; Consumer Confidence ndash; The Michigan Consumer Confidence Survey said its confidence rating slid to 56.2 in February from 61.2 in January. The record low was set in May, 1980 at 51.7.nbsp;nbsp; middot;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp; Job Cuts ndash; KV Pharmaceutical (700 jobs), Beazer Homes (300 jobs), GM (150 jobs and then announced another 10,000 jobs for the year ndash; so, with 3,400 U.S. jobs), FedEx (900 jobs), InterContinental Exchange (40 to 55 jobs), Wal-Mart (700-800 jobs), Zenith National (100 jobs), Sensata (100 jobs), Alcon (260 jobs), Greenbriar (150 jobs), Toro (100 more jobs), Bryan Cave (laying off 58 lawyers and 76 staff), TRW Automotive (45 jobs), BlueScope (53 jobs),nbsp;nbsp; middot;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp; Weekly Jobless Claims ndash; The Labor Department reported that 623,000 initial claims were filed last week, higher than expectations of 610,000. Continuing claims rose to 4.81 million from 4.78 million ndash; the highest level since records began back in 1967.nbsp;nbsp; middot;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp; Samp;P Performance ndash; Samp;P sales fell 9.8% in the October-December period and on average, companies lost $10.44 per share.nbsp;nbsp; middot;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp; Business Inventories ndash; Business inventories fell by 1.3%, more than the 0.9% expected.nbsp;nbsp; middot;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp; Ratings Downgrades ndash; Moodyrsquo;s cut the oilfield services sector, Moodyrsquo;s cut Cisco, Samp;P cut Hartford Financial, Samp;P cut Starbucks, Moodyrsquo;s cut CNA, Samp;P cut Freescale Semi, Samp;P cut Unisys, Samp;P cut Estee Lauder, Samp;P cut Cytec, Fitch cut Textron, Moodyrsquo;s cut Ameristar, Moodyrsquo;s cut FelCor, Fitch and Moodyrsquo;s cut Alcoa,nbsp;nbsp; middot;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp; Chapter 11 ndash; Crescent Oil, Samp;K Famous Brands, Charter Communications, Midway Games, Aleris, Pliant Corp.nbsp;nbsp; middot;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp; Bank Closings ndash; Regulators closed Sherman County Bank in Nebraska, Riverside Bank of the Gulf Coast in Florida, and Corn Belt Bank and Trust Co. in Illinois, bringing the number of failures so far this year to twelve. Twenty-five banks failed last year.nbsp;nbsp; middot;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp; Housing Industry ndash; The National Association of Realtors said the median sales prices of homes declined in 134 out of 153 metropolitan areas in the Q4, compared with the Q4, 2007. The nationwide median home sales price was $180,100, down 12% Y/Y. Hawaiirsquo;s foreclosure rate in January rose 174% Y/Y.nbsp;nbsp;nbsp; middot;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp; Publishing Industry ndash; The Audit Bureau of Circulations said that combined single-copy magazine sales at newsstands and other retail outlets are down 11% for the second half of 2007. Overall circulation was basically flat on 2008 over 2007.nbsp;nbsp; middot;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp; Retail Sales ndash; The Commerce Department said that retail sales grew 1% in January. Expectations were for a 0.8% decline.nbsp;nbsp; middot;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp; Trade Deficit ndash; The Commerce Department said the trade deficit in December fell 4% to $39.9 billion, from $41.6 billion in November. For the year, the deficit contracted by 3.3% to $677.1 billion. pa href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~a/smallcappulse/feed?a=9KhKUr"img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~a/smallcappulse/feed?i=9KhKUr" border="0"/img/a/p

Four More Banks Shut Down On Friday 02/13/09

Daniel Shepard — Sat, 14 Feb 2009 13:31:50 +0000

Saturday February 14, 2009 Navivest Four more banks fell victim to the deteriorating economy and were closed by financial regulators in their respective states on Friday. The banks, Pinnacle Bank, Beaverton, OR, Corn Belt Bank and Trust Company Pittsfield, IL, Riverside Bank of the Gulf Coast, Cape Coral, FL, Sherman County Bank, Loup City, NE were all relative [...]

Newfield Exploration Co. (NFX) – Bear of the Day

Zacks Market Commentaries — Tue, 27 Jan 2009 00:00:00 +0000

Newfield Exploration (NFX), based in Houston, Texas, is an independent energy company engaged in the exploration and production (E&P) of crude oil and natural gas. In an asset-diversification strategy, management has turned what was once an exclusive concentration in the Gulf of Mexico into a balanced portfolio.

We are downgrading Newfield shares to Sell from Buy to reflect the company's weak competitive position in the current unfavorable macro backdrop. We believe that the Newfield asset portfolio centered around the Rockies and Gulf Coast regions are lacking in a meaningful exposure to the emerging shale plays.

Thus, it is not suited for the current environment of low commodity prices and restricted access to capital. We have also reduced our estimates to reflect a lower commodity price deck.
"NFX" Free Stock Analysis: Buy? Sell? Hold?
Zacks Investment Research

CSX Corp. Chugging Forward – Analyst Blog

Zacks Market Commentaries — Tue, 06 Jan 2009 09:48:10 +0000

We are continuing our Buy rating on CSX Corporation (CSX), a provider of rail freight and intermodal transportation, but lowering our target price to $40. CSX will report fourth quarter results on January 20.

We are reducing our diluted EPS estimates to $3.60 from $3.66 for 2008, below CSX guidance of $3.65-3.75, and to $3.75 from $4.25 for 2009, largely due to lower revenue estimates related to weakening volumes from a slowing economy and reduced fuel surcharge revenues.

Partial offsets include improved efficiency, better yields, and share buybacks. CSX posted third quarter EPS of $0.94, above the $0.93 consensus, but below our $0.97 estimate, due to storm-related losses in the Gulf Coast and the Midwest.

CSX's growth prospects still look solid, with management affirming long-term growth estimates (through 2010) of 15-20% in operating income and of 20-25% in EPS, partly reflecting improved efficiency, with the operating ratio estimated to drop to the high 60s. CSX increased the dividend 22% to an $0.88 annual rate.

Read the full analyst report on CSX

"CSX" Free Stock Analysis: Buy? Sell? Hold?
Zacks Investment Research

Raven Biofuels International Corp. (RVBF.OB) Signs Agreement with Larson Engineering

QualityStocks — Thu, 20 Nov 2008 13:40:29 +0000

Raven Biofuels International Corporation (RVBF.OB), a developing global renewable energy company focused on producing ethanol from waste or biomass (cellulosic ethanol), recently announced that the company has entered into an agreement with Larson Engineering to begin engineering for Raven’s proposed Mississippi biorefinery. The planned 33 million gallon per year biorefinery offers regional benefits, including lower [...]

TARP Testimony Today

Contrarian Profits — Tue, 18 Nov 2008 15:18:11 +0000

What will Paulson say? Dollar remains well bid… How long for Safe Haven buyers? G-20 Schmee 20! And Now… Today’s Pfennig!

Well… Nothing has changed since I left you last Wednesday. The awful economic data just keeps piling on, and the dollar gets bid up on safe haven purchases. We did see the Eurozone and Japan announce that they are in a recession… Chris was kind enough to leave me the following, so here’s some more Chris….

“The dollar weakened slightly after the US Industrial production numbers showed a rebound in October. The 1.3% monthly gain sounds great, but it followed September’s drop of 3.7% due to the Gulf Coast hurricanes. After adjusting for the effect of the hurricanes and a strike at…

Basic Earth Science Systems, Inc. (BSIC.OB) 2nd Quarter Results Show Upside of Higher Oil and Gas Prices

QualityStocks — Fri, 14 Nov 2008 19:30:29 +0000

Basic Earth Science Systems, Inc. today reported its operating results for the 2nd Quarter ending September 30, 2008. Basic Earth is an independent oil and gas exploration company. Benefitting from higher oil and gasoline prices earlier in 2008, net income rose to $946,000. Oil and gas revenue was $2,697,000. Compared to the [...]

Platinum Energy Resources Inc. (PGRI.OB): Producing and Planning in Texas

QualityStocks — Mon, 03 Nov 2008 16:18:21 +0000

There is quite a bit to be said for planning and execution. Laying ground work for a program to succeed, with each piece of the puzzle being placed for later exploitation, is one of the better ways to profit when the time is right. Not only does planning allow for maximum opportunity for profit, but [...]

Platinum Energy Resources Inc. (PGRI.OB): Producing and Planning in Texas

QualityStocks — Mon, 03 Nov 2008 16:18:21 +0000

CSX Corporation (CSX) – Bull of the Day

Zacks Market Commentaries — Mon, 20 Oct 2008 00:00:00 +0000

Based in Jacksonville, Florida, CSX Corporation provides rail freight and intermodal transportation through its subsidiaries. Improved pricing due to strong customer demand and tight transportation supply and fuel surcharges combined with cost escalation clauses in multi-year customer contracts are driving revenue gains across the board. Increasing freight rates are expected to sustain top-line growth of at least 5-6% over the next few years.

CSX Corp. posted third quarter EPS of $0.94, above the $0.93 consensus, but below our $0.97 estimate, due to storm-related losses in the Gulf Coast and the Midwest. We are cutting our EPS estimates to $3.66 from $3.70 for 2008, as CSX Corp. is now targeting the low end of EPS guidance of $3.65-3.75, and to $4.25 from $4.40 for 2009.

CSX's projected EPS growth rate of 18% is above the median for the industry, while its dividend yield is modestly below the median. Our $60 target price represents roughly a 14X P/E, based upon our 2009 EPS estimate of $4.25 per diluted share, providing a PEG ratio (P/E divided by estimated future growth rate) of 0.8X, approximately in line with the industry median.
"CSX" Free Stock Analysis: Buy? Sell? Hold?
Zacks Investment Research

CSX Target Cut, Still a Buy – Analyst Blog

Zacks Market Commentaries — Fri, 17 Oct 2008 16:29:47 +0000

Based in Jacksonville, Florida, CSX Corp. (CSX) provides rail freight and intermodal transportation through its subsidiaries. Improved pricing due to strong customer demand and tight transportation supply and fuel surcharges combined with cost escalation clauses in multi-year customer contracts are driving revenue gains across the board. Increasing freight rates are expected to sustain top-line growth of at least 5-6% over the next few years.

CSX Corp. posted third quarter EPS of $0.94, above the $0.93 consensus, but below our $0.97 estimate, due to storm-related losses in the Gulf Coast and the Midwest. We are cutting our EPS estimates to $3.66 from $3.70 for 2008, as CSX Corp. is now targeting the low end of EPS guidance of $3.65-3.75, and to $4.25 from $4.40 for 2009.

CSX's projected EPS growth rate of 18% is above the median for the industry, while its dividend yield is modestly below the median. Our $60 target price represents roughly a 14X P/E, based upon our 2009 EPS estimate of $4.25 per diluted share, providing a PEG ratio (P/E divided by estimated future growth rate) of 0.8X, approximately in line with the industry median.

Read the full analyst report on CSX

"CSX" Free Stock Analysis: Buy? Sell? Hold?
Zacks Investment Research

CSX Target Cut, Stays a Buy – Analyst Blog

Zacks Market Commentaries — Fri, 17 Oct 2008 16:29:47 +0000

ONEOK Partners Limited – Value – Zacks Rank Buy

Tracey Ryniec — Fri, 03 Oct 2008 00:00:00 +0000

ONEOK Partners recently confirmed its higher 2008 earnings guidance despite Hurricane Ike impacting some facilities in the Gulf Coast region as commodity prices stay elevated. The partnership also increased its distribution for the 10th consecutive quarter.

ONEOK has surprised on earnings 4 consecutive quarters by an average of 24.16%. It has a forward P/E of 9.87.

Company Description

ONEOK Partners Limited (OKS) is one of the largest natural gas limited partnerships in the U.S. The partnerships owns the natural gas liquid (NGL) system that connects the natural gas and NGL supply in the Mid-Continent with key markets.

The general partner is a wholly owned subsidiary of ONEOK, Inc. (OKE), an energy company which owns 47.7% of the partnership.

Net Income Jumped 63% in the Second Quarter

On Aug 5, ONEOK Partners reported second quarter earnings that surprised on Wall Street estimates by 39.05%, or 41 cents per share, as commodity prices remained high in the quarter. Net income surged 63% to $154.5 million, or $1.46 per share, from $94.6 million, or 97 cents, in the second quarter of 2007.

For the first two quarters, net income rose 57% to $299.5 million from $190.4 million from the first-half of 2007.

The partnership saw gains in all four of its business segments primarily due to higher commodity prices in the natural gas gathering and processing segment. ONEOK also continues to see benefits from the natural gas liquids and refined petroleum products pipeline system it acquired last year.

2008 Guidance Raised

ONEOK Partners is bullish about the rest of 2008. On Aug 5, it raised 2008 guidance to the range of $5.20 to $5.60 from $4.10 to $4.60. The partnership attributed the increased forecast to strong results in the first half of the year and current commodity prices and hedges that are in place.

In its updated guidance, the partnership used 2008 average unhedged prices of $120 per barrel for crude oil, $1.65 per gallon for composite natural gas liquids and $9.20 per MMBtu for natural gas.

On Sep 17, ONEOK announced that it had no exposure to the Lehman Brothers bankruptcy nor did it expect any impact on the earnings guidance range from Hurricane Ike. ONEOK was not a participant in the partnership's revolving credit facility.

Consensus Estimates Rise

In response to the partnership's guidance, covering analysts have been raising estimates for the third quarter and the full year in the last 60 days. Third quarter consensus estimates are up 21 cents to $1.25 per unit. Full year estimates jumped 15% to $5.33 from $4.64 in that same period, matching the partnership's forecast range.

Value Fundamentals

ONEOK Partners is a Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stock. It has a forward P/E of 9.87. OKS price-to-book is 1.76. The partnership has a stellar five year average return on equity (ROE) of 18.68%.

ONEOK raised its dividend in July to $1.06 per unit from $1.04, effective in the second quarter payout which was distributed on Aug 14. The increase will result in an annualized cash distribution of $4.24.

With the latest increase, the partnership has raised the distribution 10 consecutive quarters.

ONEOK reports third quarter earnings on Nov 5.

"NBP" Free Stock Analysis: Buy? Sell? Hold?
Zacks Investment Research

Gas Supplies Up – Oil Down

QualityStocks — Wed, 01 Oct 2008 17:32:23 +0000

Proof that Americans are driving less came on Wednesday in the form of an unexpected rise in U.S. oil and gas supplies. The surplus, as well as anxieties over the status of the $700B bailout package, led to the price of oil falling below $98 per barrel. The price of light sweet crude for November [...]

Gas Supplies Up – Oil Down

QualityStocks — Wed, 01 Oct 2008 17:32:23 +0000

Gas Supplies Up – Oil Down

QualityStocks — Wed, 01 Oct 2008 17:32:23 +0000

CSX Corp. – Growth & Income – Zacks Rank Buy

Alex Kolb — Tue, 30 Sep 2008 00:00:00 +0000

CSX Corp. (CSX) boasts a solid record of exceeding Wall Street forecasts, and analysts are upbeat on earnings going forward. The companys earnings per share are expected to grow by 17%, ahead of the industry average of 14%. CSX is rewarding shareholders with a dividend yield of 1.6%.

Company Description

CSX Corp. is a transportation company that provides rail, intermodal and rail-to-truck transload services. The company's transportation network spans approximately 21,000 miles, with service to 23 eastern states and the District of Columbia. CSX connects to more than 70 ocean, river and lake ports.

Recent Events

In late September, the company announced that it is expecting a reduction in third quarter operating income by $40 million to $50 million and earnings per share by 6 to 8 cents due to the financial impact of recent storms in the Gulf Coast and Midwest. CSX added that the impact is primarily related to asset write downs, business interruption and reroute expenses. For the 2008 year and longer-term, CSX did not change its outlook.

CSX Hiked its Guidance as did Wall Street

The company boosted its outlook in early September. CSX expects full-year 2008 earnings per share to range between $3.65 and $3.75, up from a previous range that guided toward the upper end of the $3.40 to $3.60.

Analysts have 2008 earnings pegged at $3.67 per share, an increase from last months $3.57. The most accurate estimate is a higher $3.69.

CSX noted that based on the strong momentum that is expected to continue beyond 2008, the company also is raising the following long-term guidance through 2010.

Wall Street is forecasting earnings of $4.30 for 2009, a 2-cent upward revision in just 1 week. The most accurate projection is higher at $4.32.

The companys earnings per share are expected to grow by 17%, ahead of the industry average of 14%.

Rewarding Shareholders

CSX rewards shareholders with competitive income. "With our higher earnings momentum, CSX will continue to generate substantial free cash flow over the long-term," said Oscar Munoz, executive vice president and chief financial officer. "The company remains committed to maximizing value for our shareholders through strategic investment, share repurchases and dividends while maintaining its investment grade profile."

The company offers a dividend yield of 1.6%, which is competitive within its industry group.

Record Growth

CSX announced a record results in the second quarter. Earnings per share from continuing operations increased 31%.

The company saw all-time records in revenues and operating income, which jumped 15% and 17%, respectively.
"CSX" Free Stock Analysis: Buy? Sell? Hold?
Zacks Investment Research

Pioneer Drilling Company – Value – Zacks Rank Buy

Tracey Ryniec — Fri, 26 Sep 2008 00:00:00 +0000

Pioneer Drilling is taking advantage of the push to "drill, drill, drill" as revenues spiked 48% in the second quarter. The company has surprised on estimates 2 out of the last 4 quarters. Pioneer Drilling is cheap, trading at only 7x projected earnings.

Company Description

Pioneer Drilling Company (PDC) provides two services to companies in the energy sector: contract drilling and workover rig, wireline and fishing and rental services.

The company, a Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy), engages in Contract Drilling Services for both the major oil companies and the independent operators in Texas, Louisiana, Oklahoma, Kansas, the Rocky Mountain Region and in Central America, in Colombia.

The Production Services Division, which supplies energy producers along the Gulf Coast, Mid-Continent and Rocky Mountain regions, has a fleet of 69 land drilling rigs that drill in depth ranges between 6,000 and 18,000 feet, 66 workover rigs, 51 wireline units and fishing and rental tools.

Revenues Jump 48% in the Second Quarter

On Aug 7, Pioneer reported second quarter earnings that missed Wall Street estimates by 6 cents per share. Net income was $19.1 million, or 38 cents per share, compared with $13.1 million, or 26 cents, for the year earlier period. The quarter included results from the Production Services Division that was formed in March. The Production Services Division was the result of acquisitions combined with the Colombian operations.

Revenues rose 48% to $152.5 million from $102.8 million a year ago. The Drilling Services Division continues to be the primary revenue generator, with $109.3 million in the second quarter, up $6.5 million from the prior year. Rig utilization rose to 90% compared to 84% in the first quarter. The margins increased 14% to $8,026 per day, the highest of the year, up from $7,047 in the first quarter.

Pioneer expects continued improvement in margins throughout the rest of the year. The company also moved a 4th drilling rig into Colombia.

The Production Services Division saw revenues of $43.3 million. The company said the division was performing better than expected and generated a 49% margin in the second quarter. It is also bullish on demand for services for the remainder of the year.

Estimates Rise for the Third Quarter and the Full Year

In spite of volatility in the energy sector as crude prices have moved lower, covering analysts are bullish on Pioneer. Consensus estimates for the third quarter rose 7 cents to 43 cents in the last 60 days. Full year estimates jumped 17.8% to $1.52 from $1.29 during the same period.

Value Fundamentals

Pioneer's stock has fallen as energy and commodities-related stocks sold off. It now trades at only 7x forward earnings. Its price-to-book is 1.35, under the industry average of 1.78. It has a five year average return on equity (ROE) of 10.25%.

"PDC3" Free Stock Analysis: Buy? Sell? Hold?
Zacks Investment Research

Penn Virginia Corporation – Value – Zacks Rank Buy

Tracey Ryniec — Wed, 17 Sep 2008 00:00:00 +0000

Despite falling energy prices, estimates on oil explorer Penn Virginia continue to trend higher. The company beat Wall Street estimates by 28.21% in the second quarter while reporting record production. The company trades with a forward P/E of 13.16.

Company Description

Penn Virginia Corporation (PVA) is an oil and gas exploration and production company that operates in Appalachia, Mississippi, east Texas, the Mid-Continent and the Gulf Coast regions.

The company has been allocating the majority of its resources to its lower-risk drilling areas in Appalachia, Mississippi, east Texas and the Mid-Continet regions. However, PVA continues to explore in the higher-risk areas such as Gulf Coast region and the shale plays, including the Devonian, Fayetteville and New Albany shales.

PVA also owns approximately 77% of Penn Virginia GP Holdings (PVG), the owner of the general partner and the largest unitholder of Penn Virginia Resource Partners (PVR), a manager of coal and natural resource properties and related assets and the operator of a midstream natural gas gathering and processing business.

Penn Virginia Reports Record Second Quarter as Crude Soars

PVA joined a host of exploration companies that posted record numbers in the second quarter as crude made new record highs. If you weren't making money with those prices, when would you?

Net income nearly doubled in the second quarter to $41.6 million, or $1.00 per share, from $21.8 million, or 57 cents per share, in the second quarter of 2007. Analysts expected 78 cents per share.

The company had record oil and natural gas production for the quarter, rising 14% to 11.4 billion cubic feet of natural gas equivalent (Bcfe) per day from 10.1 Bcfe. It was also 10.5% higher than that produced in the first quarter of the year.

"We are pleased with this quarter's record results from all three of our business segments. Our oil and gas segment delivered record quarterly production with very high operating margins, while PVR Midstream had record system throughput volumes and PVR Coal & Natural Resource Management reported near-record lessee coal production," said A. James Dearlove, President and Chief Executive Officer.

PVA Updates Full Year Production Guidance and Outlook

With the record production in the second quarter, the company slightly raised its 2008 production guidance to between 49.7 and 51.7 Bcfe.

With the excess cash coming in from high oil prices, PVA raised its oil and gas capital expenditure guidance to a range of $625 - $650 million from $490 - $510 million.

PVA also expects growth in the midstream and coal and natural resource management segments during 2008. The company had a near-record quarter for coal production by PVR's lessees and expects higher production levels in the second half of 2008 compared to the first half.

Penn Virginia also expects average coal royalties per ton to continue to rise for the balance of 2008. PVG, of which the company owns 77%, provides approximately $43 million in annualized cash distributions to PVA, about 27% higher than the distributions of a year ago.

Consensus Estimates Rise for Third Quarter and the Full Year

Despite falling oil and natural gas prices during the third quarter, analysts have kept third quarter and full year estimates elevated. Third quarter estimates are up 6 cents to 90 cents from 84 cents 90 days ago. For the full year, estimates spiked 19.9% to $3.43 from $2.86 per share during that same time period.

PVA reports third-quarter earnings on Nov 5.

Value Fundamentals

Penn Virginia is a Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stock. It trades at 13.2x forward earnings. Its price-to-book is 2.46. The company has an solid five year average return on equity (ROE) of 16.68%. As an added bonus, the company pays a dividend, with a current yield of 0.40%.

"PVIR" Free Stock Analysis: Buy? Sell? Hold?
Zacks Investment Research

Hurricane Ike is the Latest Wild Card in the “Guess the Gasoline Price Game”

William Patalon lll — Mon, 15 Sep 2008 00:50:20 +0000

By William Patalon III Executive Editor Money Morning/The Money Map Report Last week’s crude and gasoline inventories dropped more than expected as the effects of Hurricane Gustav... Money Morning is here to help investors profit han...

Carnage on Wall Street – Closing Market Commentary

Alex Kolb — Mon, 15 Sep 2008 00:00:00 +0000

Stocks stared into the abyss, again, and finally jumped in, as the financial crisis that has been percolating for weeks finally overwhelmed Wall Street. The Dow posted its largest one day drop since just after the September 11 attacks.

The day started with an orderly sell-off that picked up steam in the second half of the session. No sector escaped the carnage.

The Dow lost 504 points, or 4.42%, to 10917. The Nasdaq Composite Index fared slightly better, giving up 81.36 points, or 3.60%, to 2179. The S&P 500 Index now finds itself below its July lows, shedding 59 points, or 4.71%, to 1192.

There were historic deals, and non-deals, all weekend long, as two of Wall Streets most revered investment banks threw in the towel. Lehman Brothers (LEH) declared bankruptcy after it couldn't find a partner who would take on its problems. Merrill Lynch (MER) fared better as Bank of America (BAC) came to its rescue.

All eyes now turn to American International Group (AIG), the world's largest insurance company, which is desperately trying to raise capital. The State of New York, which regulates insurance companies, announced that it was giving AIG permission to tap $20 billion from subsidiaries in order to give it breathing room while it continued to look for its own White Knight. AIG has far broader financial implications, worldwide, if it were to fail, than Lehman Brothers' bankruptcy, due to its size and global reach.

Also on Wall Street's watch list are Wachovia (WB), whose stock was pummeled nearly 25% today, and Washington Mutual (WM). Both companies have large mortgage exposure. Citigroup (C) released a memo to employees saying it had adequate capital which was not affected by the Lehman bankruptcy to try and quell jitters. The stock closed down 15% anyway.

If it wasn't for the financial crisis, the big news would have been Hurricane Ike, which struck the Texas coast over the weekend. Several million people in the Houston area are still without power. The energy complex fared pretty well considering the winds and storm surge. Fourteen Texas and Louisiana refineries, which refine 3.57 million barrels a day, remain closed. Most appear to have suffered only moderate damage.

There are reports that about 10 offshore platforms were damaged but that is a small number out of the thousands in the region.

Oil continued to drop, closing under $100 a barrel for the first time since February. Oil for October delivery fell $5.47, or 5.4%, to $95.71. Oil has given up all of its gains in 2008 and is now down 35% from its all-time high in July of $147.27.

Natural gas traders had concerns about supply with the Gulf Coast pipelines being shut. Natural gas for October delivery rose 0.8 cents to $7.374 per million Btu.

Thankfully, the tropics are, for the moment, quiet. No tropical systems are expected to develop in the next 48 hours.

One bright spot during the session was the precious metals as traders looked for a safe haven. Gold rose for the second session in a row, gaining $22.50, or 2.9%, to $787 an ounce. Silver followed gold higher, rising 34 cents, or 3.1%, to $11.135 an ounce.

The Focus List

There is no argument that todays bearish action took a toll on many portfolios. The Focus List was not spared. Its holdings averaged out a loss of 3.69% for the day. A tough loss, but one that was narrower than that of both the Dow (-4.42%) and S&P 500 (-4.71%) averages. The portfolio's dip was only slightly wider than the Nasdaqs (-3.60%) fall.

The weekends events translated into a rough Monday on Wall Street but not necessarily a call for panic. Discover what our panel of experts have to say about the Big Picture for Investors.

Amid the market carnage, Flowserve Corp. (FLS) came in as todays biggest Focus List decliner, shedding 8.46%. This was for the most part a response to falling oil prices. However, we are watching this holding closely. It is tough to part with the Zacks #1 Rank (strong buy) stock that boasts strong fundamentals and is currently part of the Timely Buys list, but if bearish action persists, it will be removed.

Focus List stocks that were in the news today included Railroad equipment supplier Wabtec Corp. (WAB), which announced that it bought Standard Car Truck, a leading rail equipment supplier. The purchase was in the amount of $300 million in cash.

Watson Wyatt Worldwide Inc. (WW) declared a regular quarterly dividend of $0.075 per share for the quarter ended September 30, 2008. The company said the dividend is payable on October 15, to shareholders of record at the close of business on September 30.

In our Growth and Income portfolio, steel producer Nucor Corp. (NUE) boosted its third-quarter earnings guidance by about 19%, referencing stronger overall performance, lower scrap metal prices and other factors. NUE noted that it expects earnings per share of $2.15 to $2.20, compared with its earlier forecast of $1.80 to $1.85 per share.

"WAMU" Free Stock Analysis: Buy? Sell? Hold?
"NUE" Free Stock Analysis: Buy? Sell? Hold?
"FUN" Free Stock Analysis: Buy? Sell? Hold?
"LEHH" Free Stock Analysis: Buy? Sell? Hold?
"MER9" Free Stock Analysis: Buy? Sell? Hold?
"NCL" Free Stock Analysis: Buy? Sell? Hold?
Zacks Investment Research

Effects of Hurricane Ike on oil and gas markets

James Hamilton — Sun, 14 Sep 2008 20:09:25 +0000

As Hurricane Ike took over the Gulf of Mexico, I watched with unusual interest, since I had been scheduled to fly through Houston to give a lecture in Baton Rouge on Friday. We had to cancel that visit to LSU, which left me to contemplate the consequences of Hurricane Ike for oil and gas markets from the comfort of my warm, snug home in San Diego.

Hurricane Ike on Sept. 12. Source: Drudge.

Essentially all of the 1.3 million barrels per day of U.S. crude oil production from the Gulf of Mexico (which accounts for about a quarter of total U.S. production) has been shut in as a result of the storm. When the same thing happened 3 years ago with Hurricane Katrina, the effects turned out to be surprisingly long-lived. Damage to offshore rigs proved costly to repair, and in some cases due to field depletion the platforms were abandoned rather than repaired. We will have to wait for an assessment of how extensive the damage will be this time around. The absence of a significant spike up in oil prices at the end of last week suggests that many market participants were not so worried this time.

Monthly crude oil production from federal offshore leases for Petroleum Administration for Defense District 3 in thousand barrels per day, Jan 2005 to Jan 2007. Data source: EIA.

The other concern is refining capacity. Texas and Louisiana do about half of the nation's refining, and Bloomberg reports that 20% of the nation's refining capacity was shut down by the storm. That again is comparable to what we saw 3 years ago with Katrina, in which again several of the damaged refineries took some time to repair. Damage to refineries this time may be less serious than originally feared. But even if there is no damage, it could still take a week or two to restart the refineries, and before Ike gasoline inventories were quite low.

Monthly crude oil inputs to Gulf Coast refineries in thousand barrels per day, Jan 2005 to Jan 2007. Data source: EIA.

But there's another factor in the mix this time as well. Governors and attorneys general in Tennessee, Florida, Missouri, North Carolina and doubtless many other states announced plans to crack down on "price gouging." In the current political and legal environment, fears of prosecution for this "crime" will surely prevent the price from rising to the point at which supply equals demand. That means we should expect to see shortages.

Instapundit's evidence that the price of gasoline did not rise sufficiently high.

But shortages and fears of a return to higher prices are additional motivations for people to buy gas when and where they can. If the governor orders prices to stay put, that provides a powerful reason for everyone to fill up their tanks now. And the surge in demand from that source can be an even bigger shock to the system than the supply outages themselves. Via Instapundit, Knoxnews.com reports:

As for fuel availability, Pilot hasn't run out at any of its stores, but is struggling to make sure supplies remain constant. A fuel shipment from Colonial Pipeline's main trunk into Knoxville that was originally slated to arrive Saturday, then was postponed until Tuesday, has now been pushed back to Thursday, [Pilot's vice president for supply and distribution Alan] Wright said.

The problem now is not just less fuel coming from the refineries, but a run on the pumps by drivers, he said.

"The fuel situation for Pilot really hasn't changed a whole lot since yesterday. We have fuel right now and we continue to deliver fuel to our stores; the problem we have is we are selling about twice as much fuel as we normally would," he said.

Wright said he anticipated there will be more spikes in fuel prices and short supplies over the next two to three weeks after Ike hits.

Pilot isn't the only local gasoline retailer watching the fuel situation deteriorate.

"I've been in this business 50 years and this has never happened before," said Bill Weigel, head of the Weigel's chain of convenience stores in Knox, Blount, Sevier, Loudon, Anderson and Monroe counties.

Weigel, who said Thursday that about a half-dozen Weigel's stores had run out of gas, declined to say how many more stores had run dry Friday.

Gee, and I had been all ready to share the good news that the drop in gasoline prices prior to Ike seemed to produce a remarkable bump back up in consumer sentiment.

Reuters/Michigan index of consumer sentiment. Data source: FRED and Bloomberg.

Technorati Tags: oil, oil prices, gas prices Hurricane Ike, Ike, gasoline, economics, macroeconomics

Xethanol Corporation (XNL) is “One to Watch”

QualityStocks — Thu, 11 Sep 2008 20:53:08 +0000

Xethanol Corporation is a diversified renewable energy company dedicated to the production of ethanol and related products. They produce these products in manufacturing facilities close to major urban markets, using raw materials readily available in those areas. The company also produces distiller’s wet grains, a byproduct of the corn-to-ethanol process. Founded in 2000, Xethanol Corporation trades [...]

A Commodity Meltdown

Mike Havrilla — Thu, 11 Sep 2008 06:18:00 +0000

A Commodity Meltdown The accompanying three-month chart illustrates a steadily strengthening US Dollar (UUP) along with a broad-based meltdown in the prices of commodities. The U.S. Oil (USO) and Natural Gas (UNG) Funds are down over 20% and 40%, respectively, while SPDR Gold Shares (GLD) and PowerShares DB Agricultural Commodities (DBA) [...]

The Morning Edge – September, 2 2008

QualityStocks — Tue, 02 Sep 2008 13:44:56 +0000

The major theme of todayâ€™s trading will be the response of the energy sector in the aftermath of Hurricane Gustav. Index futures point to strong openings as crude oil and natural gas continue to sell off after posting losses during special trading sessions over the weekend and Labor Day holiday. The storm, which [...]

Momentum Biofuels Inc. (MMBF.OB) is Picking up Speed for Profitable Growth

QualityStocks — Tue, 02 Sep 2008 13:34:41 +0000

Momentum Biofuels Inc., headquartered in League City, Texas, engages in the production and marketing of biodiesel fuel. Trading on the OTCBB, they produce their biodiesel from soybean or mustard seed oil. Biodiesel is a renewable fuel that can also come from other vegetable oils as well as animal fats. They are then blended with petroleum [...]

Striker Oil & Gas Inc. (SOIS.OB): Riding the Energy Boom to Profits

QualityStocks — Tue, 02 Sep 2008 01:18:20 +0000

Striker Oil & Gas (SOIS) develops, explores and acquires crude oil and natural gas reserves, operating along the Gulf Coast of Texas and Louisiana, as well as in East Texas and Mississippi. It is speculated that Striker has potential oil and gas reserves of $400 million in Texas and Louisiana. That equates to 32.5 billion [...]

Whiting Petroleum Corporation – Value – Zacks Rank Buy

Tracey Ryniec — Tue, 02 Sep 2008 00:00:00 +0000

Whiting Petroleum Corporation (WLL), the independent oil and gas company that explores primarily in the Permian Basin, Rocky Mountains, Mid-Continent, Gulf Coast and Michigan, continues to be a Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stock even as crude and natural gas prices have pulled back from record highs.

On July 30, WLL reported second quarter earnings that missed on analysts' estimates by 5.47%, or 11 cents per share. However, it was a record quarter for the company, as net income spiked to $80.4 million, or $1.90 per share, from $26.5 million, or 72 cents per share, in the second quarter of 2007.

Production continues to increase year over year with first half production in 2008 totaling 7.76 MMBOE, or 42,660 BOE per day, compared with 7.26 MMBOE, or 40,090 BOE per day, in the first half of 2007.

The company is bullish about production going forward. It has raised its production guidance for the full year 2008 to 16.7 MMBOE from 16.5 MMBOE. 2007 production totaled 14.7 MMBOE.

Consensus Estimates Jump for the Third Quarter and the Full Year

Consensus estimates also continue to rise. For the third quarter, estimates jumped 13% to $2.35 from $2.08 per share in the last 30 days.

For the full year, estimates rose 13.3% to $8.25 from $7.28 per share in the last month. Just 90 days ago, full year estimates were at $5.41 per share.

WLL still has solid value fundamentals, with a forward P/E of 10.84. Read the May 7 analysis.

Update to Previous Value Zacks Rank Buy Stocks

Enterprise Products Partners L. P. (EPD), which controls 35,000 miles of energy pipelines, saw profits jump in the second quarter as energy remains a hot commodity. The company has surprised on estimates 2 out of the last 4 quarters by 21.01%. Enterprise Products has a forward P/E of 13.07. Read the Aug 26 analysis.

Overseas Shipholding Group, Inc. (OSG), the crude shipper, recently raised its dividend by 40% as shipping rates remain high. Overseas Shipholding has a price-to-book (P/B) of only 1.1. Read the Aug 27 analysis.

Multi-Fineline Electronix, Inc. (MFLX), the circuit manufacturer, reported record third quarter sales as its customers see strong demand for smartphones and other electronic devices. The company has posted strong earnings surprises in 3 out of the last 4 quarters, beating by an average of 182.32%. Read the Aug 28 analysis.

Gibraltar Industries, Inc. (ROCK), the manufacturer of mailboxes and other products for the building and automobile industries, has surprised on estimates 4 consecutive quarters by an average of 62.29%. Gibraltar has a forward P/E of 13.62. Read the Aug 29 analysis.

"WLL" Free Stock Analysis: Buy? Sell? Hold?
Zacks Investment Research

Lower Oil was not Enough to Push Stocks Higher – Closing Market Commentary

Alex Kolb — Tue, 02 Sep 2008 00:00:00 +0000

Stocks opened September in a bullish mood after Hurricane Gustav did not cause as much damage as feared over the Labor Day weekend in the Gulf of Mexico. Crude sold off hard to open the session which buoyed stock investors but the rally couldn't hold.

The Dow, after surging over 200 points in the morning session, finished the day down 26.63 points, or 0.2% to 11516. The Dow was dragged down by Exxon (XOM) and Chevron (CVX), both which lost over 3% during the session. The S&P 500 Index fell 5.3 points, or 0.4%, to 1277. The Nasdaq Composite Index also couldn't hold onto big early gains, losing 18.28 points, or 0.8%, to 2349.

Crude was the big story after Gustav weakened by the time he hit the Louisiana coast. Crude fell as much as 8.7% during today's session before rallying a bit to close down only $5.75, or 5.0%, to $109.71 a barrel. The last time crude was at this level was in early April.

Natural gas also fell sharply, declining 68.2 cents, or 8.6%, to $7.261 per million Btu.

The Gulf coast energy facilities remain shut but early reports indicate that the damage has not been as extensive as feared several days ago. However, it will take anywhere from 5 to 10 days for refineries to resume operation given the power outages in the region. Platforms and pipelines are currently being inspected for damage.

The strengthening dollar also contributed to oil's slide, as it continued its recent rally, closing up 0.8% to $1.4508 per euro. It touched as high as $1.4467, the strongest since early February.

The tropics continue to be active, with three named storms, Hanna, Ike and Josephine, in the Atlantic. Currently, none of the three is expected to threaten any energy rich area but traders continue to eye the tropical activity.

The Focus List

A few of the commodities related holdings took a hit today on oils drop, resulting in a 2.32% decline for the Focus List.

Stocks such as Fluor Corporation (FLR) and CF Industries Holdings, Inc. (CF) fell today on no news by 8% and 9%, respectively. These, and other Focus List names from the energy arena, exhibited a short- term reaction Tuesdays crude sell off but remain sound fundamentally. While energy holdings are tough to watch on a day like today, having them still translates into well diversified portfolio, especially on days that oil moves up.

On the up side, GameStop Corp. (GME) jumped 3.4% in todays down market. There were no major developments on GME.
"J" Free Stock Analysis: Buy? Sell? Hold?
"FLR2" Free Stock Analysis: Buy? Sell? Hold?
"CF" Free Stock Analysis: Buy? Sell? Hold?
"GME3" Free Stock Analysis: Buy? Sell? Hold?
"SD" Free Stock Analysis: Buy? Sell? Hold?
Zacks Investment Research

Gustav’s impact to the Market this Week: Airlines and more

Stockmasters Staff — Mon, 01 Sep 2008 23:33:03 +0000

The market knows from experience that infrastructure problems can emerge long after a hurricane strikes; early reports following Katrina's landfall in 2005 erroneously said the flooding in New Orleans was not going to be problematic. Stocks fell in overseas trading Monday after crude fell below $111 a barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange, and their declines will weigh on the Dow Jones industrials and other indexes.

Enterprise Products Partners L. P.

Tracey Ryniec — Tue, 26 Aug 2008 00:00:00 +0000

Enterprise Products Partners saw profits jump in the second quarter as its energy pipelines remain in demand. The company has surprised on estimates 2 out of the last 4 quarters by 21.01%. Enterprise Products has a forward P/E of 13.07.

Company Description

Enterprise Products Partners L. P. (EPD) transports natural gas, NGLs, crude oil and petrochemicals for energy producers through 35,000 miles of onshore and offshore pipelines in the United States.

The company, a Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy), also gathers, processes and stores natural gas, crude and petrochemicals.

On Aug 6, EPD announced it was acquiring the remaining 25.8% of Dixie Pipeline Company and Dixie Terminals and Storage Company from BP. The acquisition would give Enterprise complete control of a 1,300-mile pipeline system through 7 southern gulf coast states. The company has owned a share of Dixie since 1999.

Enterprise Reports a Record Second Quarter

On July 24, Enterprise reported a record second quarter that beat Wall Street estimates by 44.44%.

Net income rose 85% to $263 million, or 52 cents, compared to net income of $142 million or 26 cents for the second quarter of 2007. Analysts expected EPS of just 36 cents.

Revenue jumped 51% to a record $6.34 billion from $4.21 billion in the second quarter of 2007. Each business segment reported growth, driven by the natural gas processing and pipeline assets and the NGL pipeline assets.

The company said the second quarter gross operating margin exceeded that of the first quarter by $12 million, despite the downtime and expenses involved in repairing the Independence Hub pipeline, which had a leak, and downtime with the Pioneer natural gas processing plant.

Estimates Rise for the Third Quarter and the Year

Responding to the record second quarter, analysts raised estimates for the third quarter and the full year. For the third quarter, 11 out of 12 covering analysts raised estimates by an average of 12 cents to 54 cents from 42 cents per share.

For the full year, consensus estimates jumped 21% to $2.10 from $1.74 per share. All 13 covering analysts raised estimates in the last month, however 2 have lowered in the last week.

Value Fundamentals

Enterprise Products has a forward P/E of 13.07. Its price-to-book is 2.01. The company has a solid one year return on equity (ROE) of 13.35%. EPD also pays a generous dividend. Its current yield is 7.10%.

"EPD" Free Stock Analysis: Buy? Sell? Hold?
Zacks Investment Research

McMoran Exploration Co.

Michael Vodicka — Tue, 26 Aug 2008 00:00:00 +0000

McMoran Exploration Co. (MMR) posted impressive second-quarter results in mid July that demonstrate the company's ability to profit in this energy environment. Analyst estimates continue to advance, and with shares recently dipping lower, this stock is trading deep into value territory.

McMoRan Exploration Co. engages in the exploration and production of crude oil and natural gas offshore in the Gulf of Mexico and onshore in the Gulf Coast area. The company was founded in 1994, has a market cap of $1.75 billion and is headquartered in New Orleans, Louisiana.

Oil prices have trade lower over the last two months, but still remain at very high levels on a historical basis. This has translated into robust profits for plenty of oil production and exploration companies, including McMoran.

Second-Quarter Results

The company's second-quarter results, reported on July 17, were excellent. Revenue from oil and gas grew to $372.3 million from $45 million in the same quarter last year. Net income jumped ahead to $60.3 million, up from a loss of $6.5 million last year.

This produced earnings of $1.25 cents per share, blowing past analyst estimates of 97 cents per share. It was the second consecutive quarter that the company produced a big earnings beat, having outpaced analyst estimates by 47% in the first quarter.

Production Capacities Way Up

The company made significant progress in boosting its production capacities, a key metric for evaluating production companies, through a combination of acquisitions, and internal, organic growth.

Daily production for the quarter averaged 294 million cubic feet of natural gas equivalents per day (MMcfe/d), compared to just 54 million MMcfe/d in the same period last year.

McMoran's proven reserves, another important evaluation metric, also jumped forward, increasing to 399 billion cubic feet of natural gas, compared to 363 Bcfe at the end of 2007.

Debt Reduction

McMoran was also able to pay down a sizeable portion of its debt (excluding senior notes), which now totals $305 million, down $280 million from the end of 2007.

Analyst Estimates

Analyst estimates have continued to creep higher, with the current-year estimate advancing to $2.69 per share from $2.21 per share 90 days ago. The next-year estimate stands at $3.42 per share, a 27% earnings growth projection.

Valuations

Based upon the current-year projection, this stock looks like a bargain, trading with a forward P/E multiple of 10.4X, a steep discount to the overall market.

The Chart

Shares of MMR have been trading in a fairly tight range over the last two months, but recently broke out from the channel and logged a higher close. With strong earnings in hand and a bullish earnings projections moving forward, this stock looks well positioned for more gains. Take a look at the chart below.

"MOXY" Free Stock Analysis: Buy? Sell? Hold?
Zacks Investment Research

Dutton Associates Featured Company: Index Oil and Gas, Inc. (IXOG.OB)

QualityStocks — Tue, 19 Aug 2008 19:30:02 +0000

Index Oil and Gas, Inc. engages in the acquisition, exploration, appraisal, development, production, and sale of oil and gas properties, primarily in the prolific petroleum regions of Kansas and the onshore Gulf Coast, mainly in Texas and Louisiana. As of March 31, 2008, the company’s estimated total proved oil and gas reserves were approximately 219.469 [...]

Williams Companies

Zacks Market Commentaries — Thu, 14 Aug 2008 00:00:00 +0000

Williams Companies, Inc. (WMB) recently announced second-quarter adjusted earnings of 68 cents per share, eclipsing last years 43 cents and topping the consensus estimate by 3%. WMBs earnings per share are expected to grow by 14% over the next 3 5 years, exceeding the industry average projection of 8%.

Company Description

Williams Companies, through its subsidiaries, finds, produces, gathers, processes and transports natural gas. The companys operations are concentrated in the Pacific Northwest, Rocky Mountains, Gulf Coast, and Eastern Seaboard.

A Solid Second Quarter Reflects Strong Growth

The company recently posted second-quarter adjusted earnings of 68 cents per share, eclipsing last years 43 cents and topping the consensus estimate by 3%.

Williams noted that strong performances in the company's exploration & production and midstream businesses were the key drivers of the increase in the second-quarter and year-to-date results. The company cited higher net realized average natural gas prices and strong natural gas production growth, as well as natural gas liquid (NGL) margins remaining at historically high levels as contributors to WMBs positive performance. The results also benefited from a gain on the sale of certain international interests.

"Natural gas is playing an increasingly vital role in our nation's energy picture, and Williams operates a portfolio of natural gas assets that are best-in-class," said Steve Malcolm , chairman, president and chief executive officer.

The company offers a return on equity (ROE) of 19%, beating the industry average of 13%.

Anticipating More Growth

Williams boosted its guidance for the 2008 and 2009 years. The company hiked its 2008 outlook from a range of $2.30 to $2.80 per share to a range of $2.35 to $2.80.

For 2009, Williams was forecasting earnings per share of $2.05 to $2.90, and now sees a range a $2.10 to $2.95.

Wall Street is also raising estimates. Year 2008 forecasts of $2.70 per share are above last weeks $2.69. Two months ago, analysts were calling for $2.12. Projections of $2.79 per share for 2009 were increased from last weeks $2.71.

WMBs earnings per share are expected to grow by 14% over the next 3 5 years, exceeding the industry average projection of 8%.

Income

Williams declared a dividend of 11 cents per share in mid-July. The company stated that the dividend is payable Sept. 8, 2008, to holders of record at the close of business on Aug. 22, 2008.

WMB has paid a common stock dividend every quarter since 1974.
"WMB" Free Stock Analysis: Buy? Sell? Hold?
Zacks Investment Research

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