During Thursday's trading, Anadarko Petroleum (NYSE: APC) hit an all-time high of $78.75 and closed at $77.62. Anadarko was one of my first recommendations after I started writing for BloggingStocks, and is nearing 100% appreciation from the $40 price tag it had when we acquired it.
The 10-year chart below indicates the strong long-term performance of Anadarko, rising about 500% and paying dividends to boot. I cannot say the stock is a bargain at recent highs, but I can emphatically state that this company belongs on your watch list.
It was only a few days ago that I posted Chasing Value: Anadarko Petroleum up on earnings & outlook and discussed many of the favorable attributes of the company going forward. Most casual observers may be looking at the sky-high oil prices we're all paying and thinking that this is driving the stock price up, but there are other factors too.
One is that APC is also a major player in natural gas. I think there is another factor that is overlooked sometimes which has been a part of my argument in support of this stock pick all along: half of its proven oil and gas reserves are in North America.
Given all the sabotage and frequent turmoil in world markets, I believe all barrels of oil are not created equal. Anything in our backyard is worth some premium above oil and gas from anywhere else.
Sheldon Liber is the CEO of a small private investment company and the principal for design and research at an architecture & planning firm. He writes the columns Chasing Value and Serious Money. Disclosure: I own shares of APC.
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