Continue reading Expect profitable days with Schlumberger

Expect profitable days with Schlumberger originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Thu, 10 Sep 2009 09:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

"The Warren Buffet related Muni-Bond insurance plan was a positive catalyst," notes options and market timing expert Larry McMillan in The Daily Strategist. Here, he looks at the overall market and some select buy signals in individual stocks.

"The multiple re-tests of the support area around 1310-1320 has inspired confidence as buyers have emerged. And the S&P 500 Index has been able to stage a strong rally above the 1350 level in the interim. This is a first positive step.

"Sector support behind the rally remains primarily in the Energy sector: however, the Financial sector has joined in somewhat. A continuation of these sectors rallying in concert would bode well for a continuation of he current rally.

Continue reading McMillan: Timer sees 'first step' to buy signal

McMillan: Timer sees 'first step' to buy signal originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Wed, 13 Feb 2008 12:06:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Continue reading Ultra Petroleum (UPL) is well-positioned in a preferred energy form

Ultra Petroleum (UPL) is well-positioned in a preferred energy form originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Mon, 14 Jan 2008 17:23:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

What are the best energy investments for long-term investors? To answer this question, I surveyed 20 of the nation's leading financial newsletter advisors to find their current favorite ideas in the energy sector.

Interestingly, the advisors see the best opportunities in areas well beyond traditional oil firms; indeed, no one included in this report chose a major integrated oil company. Rather, the advisors have shown a preference for various oil services sectors, non-oil energy sources, and developing alternative technologies.

Some focus on areas such as deep-sea operations with Diamond Offshore Drilling Inc. (NYSE: DO), Transocean Inc. (NYSE: RIG) and Oceaneering International (NYSE: OII), while others look toward oil shippers such as Nordic American Tanker Shipping (NYSE: NAT) and refiners such as Valero Energy Corp. (NYSE: VLO).

Others chose companies that make specific products needed by the oil & gas industries such as NATCO Group Inc. (NYSE: NTG), which makes a wide range of oil & gas processing systems; Dresser-Rand Group Inc. (NYSE: DRC), a maker of control systems; Gardner Denver Inc. (NYSE: GDI), which makes compressor and fluid transfer systems; Tenaris (NYSE: TS), a maker of pipes and tublar products and Schlumberger Ltd. (NYSE: SLB), the largest and most diversified of the oil services companies.

Continue reading Best energy ideas: Favorites from the newsletter advisors

Best energy ideas: Favorites from the newsletter advisors originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Fri, 19 Oct 2007 13:10:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Oklahoma turns 100 years old this year, and I wrote a bit about its business climate in my recent Investing in Oklahoma post. That post featured some growth companies based in Oklahoma: Arena Resources Inc. (NYSE: ARD), Helmerich & Payne Inc. (NYSE: HP), Unit Corp. (NYSE: UNT), Chesapeake Energy Corp. (NYSE: CHK), ONEOK Inc. (NYSE: OKE), Devon Energy Corp. (NYSE: DVN), and the Williams Companies (NYSE: WMB).

Earlier this year, the Motley Fool also took at look at Oklahoma companies, and focused on some of the same energy sector companies that I did. Its search also included two non-energy companies as well: drive-in burger chain Sonic Corp. (NASDAQ: SONC) for its growth potential, and Tulsa-based Dollar Thrifty Automotive (NYSE: DTG).

Sonic recently announced 21 consecutive years of positive same-store sales performance, and reaffirmed its 33 cents earnings per share earnings expectations for the fourth quarter. For fiscal 2008, Sonic expects earnings growth of 15% to 17%. The consensus of analysts surveyed by Thomson Financial is that Sonic is a buy. The share price was $23.40 at the close on Friday, up from a 52-week low of $20.02 in late July, not yet quite back to its 52-week high of $25.09 in May, but still up from its stumble at the end of August after an analyst's downgrade based on labor and dairy costs. That was before the announcement and reaffirmed expectations mentioned above. Also, Sonic made the Forbes list of 100 best mid cap stocks in America.

Continue reading Investing in Oklahoma: Sonic (SONC), Dollar Thrifty (DTG), OGE Energy (OGE)

Investing in Oklahoma: Sonic (SONC), Dollar Thrifty (DTG), OGE Energy (OGE) originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Mon, 01 Oct 2007 10:55:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Oklahoma celebrates its centennial in November -- Happy Birthday, Oklahoma!

Today, Oklahoma is known as one of the most business-friendly states, due in part to low tax rates. Oklahoma's economy is based largely on the energy, aviation, and food processing sectors. From 2000 to 2006, Oklahoma's gross domestic product increased 50 percent. The GDP per capita grew almost 10 percent between 2005 and 2006, one of the highest rates in the nation.

Fortune magazine's 2007 list of the fastest growing companies in the U.S. included six from Oklahoma. At number three on the list was Tulsa-based Arena Resources Inc. (NYSE: ARD), a seven-year old oil and gas firm with a three-year annual growth rate of 165 percent. Back in August, Arena announced strong second quarter 2007 financial and operating results. Arena is also a major holding in the Bruce Fund, which recently made the 2007 Forbes Honor Roll.

Tulsa-based oil and gas driller Helmerich & Payne Inc. (NYSE: HP) had a three-year annual growth rate of 37 percent, which beat the S&P 500. In August, H&P announced strong second quarter 2007 results, as well as two new contracts. The Motley Fool sees expansion in other sectors as good news for drillers such as H&P.

Continue reading Investing in Oklahoma: Arena Resources (ARD), Chesapeake Energy (CHK), ONEOK (OKE) and others

Investing in Oklahoma: Arena Resources (ARD), Chesapeake Energy (CHK), ONEOK (OKE) and others originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Fri, 14 Sep 2007 18:15:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

At the beginning of May, I suggested one group might be due for a decent correction in a post entitled, "Utility sector: poised to blow a short-term fuse?"

Since then, the group (which has an equivalent exchange-traded fund, or ETF (AMEX: XLU)) has fallen by 7.66%, while the S&P 500 index has gained 1.09%. Quarter-to-date, utilities are down 2.79% and the S&P 500 is up 5.97% (all data through last Friday).

Now, with the latest 3-month reporting period coming to an end this week, it might be worth thinking about going the other way. Not on an outright basis, however, but by switching out of another sector, energy (AMEX: XLE), that has gotten very over-extended.

Continue reading A sector switch worth considering

A sector switch worth considering originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Mon, 25 Jun 2007 15:45:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Powerful numbers on Matrix Service Company originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Mon, 04 Jun 2007 14:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Anadarko Petroleum (NYSE:APC) is on my watch list. It closed today at $42.47 down 48 cents. It popped up on my screen when it hit my target of $42.00 per share and a price-to-earnings (P/E) ratio near 5; that's very low for this caliber of company.

So I took a closer look at some other factors. I already liked the fact that they are deeply involved in energy -- a currently undervalued segment of the economy. Half its oil and natural gas reserves are in North America and management has been making good decisions for a decade, so the track record is there. One decision I like was increasing its reserves and selling some Gulf Coast assets.

Anadarko has a 52-week high of $56.97 and is near it's low of $39.51. At 36% off it's high it is looking very tempting. Oil and natural gas prices are down significantly and APC's price reflects that; however, I'm thinking, do they go up from here, or down -- which is more likely? I say up eventually, and sooner rather than later. What do I get if I buy and hold? Maybe 'dead money' for six to nine months plus a small dividend yield of .83% or maybe prices rise and the stock just makes a small move up.

Continue reading Anadarko Petroleum - hmmm, getting interesting

Anadarko Petroleum - hmmm, getting interesting originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Tue, 06 Feb 2007 18:17:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.