"Considering that the 73 utility stocks in the S&P 1500 Index combine to represent just 4% of the index's market value, they certainly occupy a big place in the hearts of investors," notes Richard Moroney.

The editor of Dow Theory Forecasts -- a newsletter that has been published for nearly 60 years -- explains, "Here, we offer a diversified 12-stock utility portfolio, as well as our top utility choice for investors who only wish to buy one stock in the sector.

Continue reading Dow Theory's Diversified, 15-Stock Utility Portfolio

Dow Theory's Diversified, 15-Stock Utility Portfolio originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Fri, 20 Aug 2010 10:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

MOST NOTEWORTHY:

• Jefferies downgraded shares of Golar LNG (NASDAQ: GLNG) to Hold from Buy on valuation, as they see limited upside over the next 12 months.
  
• Banc of America downgraded shares of Yingli Green Energy (NYSE: YGE) to Neutral from Buy on difficult fundamentals, as they believe solar industry gross margins will continue to contract due to silicon competition and decelerating demand in Spain and Germany.
  
• SunTrust lowered Bill Barrett Corporation (NYSE: BBG) to Neutral from Buy based on valuation and lack of near-term exploration catalysts.

• Autodesk (NASDAQ: ADSK) was lowered to Accumulate from Buy at ThinkEquity.
  
• Goldman removed Oneok (NYSE: OKE) from its Conviction Buy List.
  
• Merrill Lynch downgraded Boardwalk Pipeline Partners (NYSE: BWP) to Sell from Buy.

Analyst downgrades: Golar LNG, Yingli Green Energy, Bill Barrett Corp. originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Wed, 27 Feb 2008 11:52:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

ONEOK (NYSE: OKE) purchases, transports, stores and distributes natural gas in the United States. The firm's ONEOK Partners segment is engaged in the fractionation of natural gas liquids and the gathering and processing natural gas, primarily in the Mid-Continent and Rocky Mountain regions. The Distribution unit provides natural gas distribution services to residential, commercial, and industrial customers in Oklahoma, Kansas, and Texas. The Energy Services operation focuses primarily on marketing natural gas. ONEOK sold its gathering and processing, natural gas liquids, pipelines and storage businesses to ONEOK Partners in 2006 and became that company's general partner and 46% owner.

The firm pleased investors last week, when it boosted its FY07 EPS guidance from $2.62-2.72 to $2.75-2.79. The Street had been looking for $2.66. Management also issued FY08 guidance of $2.75-3.15 ($2.87 consensus). OKE shares popped on the news and then moved into a bullish "pennant" consolidation pattern. Prices frequently exit pennants moving in the same direction they were traveling on entry. In this case, that would be to the upside.

Brokers recommend the shares with two "strong buys", one "buy" and six "holds". The OKE P/E ratio (19.83), Price to Sales ratio (0.40), Price to Book ratio (2.66), Price to Cash Flow ratio (7.40), Price to Free Cash Flow ratio (28.53) and Revenue per Employee ($2.77M) compare favorably with industry, sector and S&P 500 averages. Institutions hold about 74% of the outstanding shares. The stock is one of those used to calculate the S&P 400 MidCap Index. Over the past 52 weeks, it has traded between $39.26 and $55.27. A stop-loss of $42.00 looks good here. Note that the firm is expected to report Q4 results on February 25th, after the closing bell.

Larry Schutts is a contributing editor for Theflyonthewall.com and the Vice-President of Stockwinners.com. He does not hold a position in the stock discussed above.

ONEOK (OKE) shares forming bullish pennant after favorable guidance originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Mon, 14 Jan 2008 15:13:00 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.