Credit spreads: A fixed income investor’s must-know guide
Credit spreads are the difference in yield between U.S. Treasuries and corporate bonds of the same maturity. Corporate bonds yield more than Treasury bonds, as they carry a risk of default.
Energy & Utilities
Stock news and analysis in the energy sector, including petroleum, natural gas, and green energy,
Energy & Utilities 
Crude Oil: Price Forecasts and Hedge Funds’ Position
Hedge funds increased their net long positions in US crude oil futures and options by 43,861 contracts or 18.4% to 282,362 contracts on July 25–August 1.
Will US Crude Oil Futures Surpass their 200-Day Moving Average?
Let’s track some important events for oil and gas traders from August 14 to 18, 2017.
Kurdistan Referendum: Time to Buy Crude Oil Futures?
On September 25, 2017, the people in Kurdistan voted in a referendum for independence. As a result, Turkey blocked 500,000 bpd of crude oil exports.
A quick overview of oil and gas field services biz Schlumberger
Schlumberger Limited is a Houston-based energy company. It provides technology, integrated project management, and information solutions to oil and gas exploration and production (or E&P) companies around the world.
Which Natural Gas–Weighted Stocks Could Follow Oil?
WPX Energy had the lowest correlation with natural gas prices in the past five trading sessions. Southwestern Energy had among the highest correlations.
How Halliburton Has Reacted to Crude Oil Prices
Between April 16 and April 23, Halliburton (HAL) stock’s price correlation with crude oil was 0.99, showing that Halliburton and crude oil prices have been strongly correlated in the past week.
VPU Versus XLU: Which Utility ETF Is Better?
Utility ETFs have performed well in the last one year. The Vanguard Utilities Fund ETF (VPU) has been no exception to this.
How Supply Outages Affect Crude Oil Prices
The EIA (U.S. Energy Information Administration) estimates that Libya’s crude oil production rose by 160,000 bpd (barrels per day) to 1.0 MMbpd (million barrels per day) in July 2017 compared to the previous month.
Why Did Oil Prices Fall?
On March 22, natural gas April 2018 futures declined 0.8% and settled at $2.62 per million British thermal units.
Why insider buying at Sprott Resource Corp. is a positive signal
Sprott Resource Corp., SRC (SCPZF), employs a disciplined approach when looking for investments. You can take this with a grain of salt but the company lists the fact that they have done due diligence on over 1,000 deals.
Will US Crude Oil Futures Fall from 4-Month Highs?
WTI (West Texas Intermediate) crude oil (RYE) (VDE) futures hit $26.21 per barrel on February 11, 2016—the lowest level in more than a decade.
Why US Crude Oil Production Hit a 5-Week Low
The US Energy Information Administration (or EIA) released its “Weekly Petroleum Status Report” on October 12. It estimates that US crude oil production fell by 81,000 bpd (barrels per day).
Marathon Oil’s Lifting Costs
In 2Q17, Marathon Oil’s (MRO) reported a lifting cost of ~$6.75 per boe (barrel of oil equivalent), which is ~28.0% lower than its 2Q16 lifting cost of ~$10.88.
Dimensional Fund Advisors’ Major Holdings in Q3
Dimensional Fund Advisors’ top buys are Apple (AAPL), AT&T (T), Microsoft (MSFT), L3Harris Technologies (LHX), and Verizon Communications (VZ).
Whiting Petroleum’s Capex Plans for 2018
Whiting Petroleum’s (WLL) 2018 capital expenditure forecast is $750 million, compared to its capex of $912 million in 2017.
Will Saudi Arabia Remove Excess Oil from the Market?
Saudi Arabia is expected to cut exports 10% to North Asian refiners in September 2017 due to OPEC’s production cut deal.
Natural Gas Traders Should Stay Cautious of Oil Rigs
On December 29, the natural gas rig count was 88.7% below its record high of 1,606 in 2008. However, natural gas supplies have risen drastically since 2008.
Why US Crude Oil Production Is Bearish for Oil Prices
US crude oil production hit 9.6 MMbpd (million barrels per day) in June 2015, the highest level ever.
Top Energy Gains Last Week
On April 16, McDermott International announced that it will release its first-quarter earnings results on April 29.
Why MLPs’ Sluggishness Continued Last Week
MLPs’ sluggishness continued last week despite strong crude oil. The Alerian MLP Index (^AMZ), which tracks the performance of 50 energy MLPs, fell 1.2% last week.
TPG-Axon Capital buys CNX, M, OUTR, and DDS and decreases positions in ROC, GNC, and WYN—13F Flash A
In this six-part series, we’ll go through some of the main positions TPG-Axon Capital traded this past quarter. Why buy CONSOL Energy (CNX)?
Key Updates on the EQT-RICE Merger
Under EQT Corporation’s (EQT) existing ownership, the company owns a 90% limited partner interest and non-economic general partner interest in EQT GP Holdings (EQGP).
Geopolitical Tensions Impact Crude Oil Prices
On October 3, 2017, Iraq banned selling dollars to Kurdistan’s banks due to the vote in the referendum. Geopolitical tensions could impact crude oil prices.
Can the US Dollar Index Help WTI Crude Oil Prices?
The US Dollar Index fell ~0.13% to 93.89, and July WTI oil futures rose ~1.2% on June 5.
Why US Crude Oil Production Could Hit a Record High in 2018
US crude oil production According to the EIA (U.S. Energy Information Administration), US crude oil production rose 13,000 bpd (barrels per day) to 9,658,000 bpd between November 10 and 17, 2017. Production, which rose for the fifth straight week, has been pressuring oil (SCO) prices in the last few weeks. Production has risen 977,000 bpd (11.3%) year-over-year. Any […]
More about KBR’s Major Clients
Clients and their sectors KBR (KBR) has a diverse customer base. According to KBR, its customers are “domestic and foreign governments, international and national oil and gas companies, independent refiners, petrochemical producers, fertilizer producers and manufacturers.” Revenue from overseas operations represented 63%, 57%, and 51% of KBR’s total revenue in 2014, 2015, and 2016, respectively. In this part, we’ll look at […]
Halliburton Reacts to Changing Crude Oil Prices: Update
Halliburton’s (HAL) stock price correlation with crude oil on July 20–27 was 0.22—a moderately positive correlation.
Schlumberger and Halliburton Compared to the Industry
By market capitalization, Schlumberger is the largest OFS company. Schlumberger’s stock price has declined 4% since May 3, 2017.
Stock Comparison: How Have COP, DVN, OXY, APC, and EOG Fared?
Stock performance In this article, we’ll discuss the year-to-date (YTD) stock performance of ConocoPhillips (COP), Devon Energy (DVN), Occidental Petroleum (OXY), Anadarko Petroleum (APC), and EOG Resources (EOG), which reported the highest revenue among upstream companies in fiscal 2017. Outliers and underperformers The above image shows that ConocoPhillips (COP) is the outlier among peers. YoY […]
Top MLP Gainers in the Week Ending October 13
Navios Maritime Midstream Partners (NAP) was the highest MLP gainer in the week ending October 13. It rose 11.4% during the week.
How Refining Stocks’ Historical Valuation Compares
Refining stocks’ valuation In this part, we’ll compare refining stocks’ EV-to-EBITDA (enterprise value to earnings before interest, tax, depreciation, and amortization) ratios with their three-year averages. Marathon Petroleum (MPC), Valero Energy (VLO), Phillips 66 (PSX), and Tesoro (TSO) are trading higher than their historical valuation. MPC was trading at a 10.3x EV-to-EBITDA ratio in 1Q17, compared […]
Ferrellgas Partners (FGP): An investor’s must-know overview
Ferrellgas Partners, L.P. (FGP), a master limited partnership (MLP), is the second largest retail propane distributor in the U.S. serving all 50 states, the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico, as measured by the volume of retail sales in fiscal 2013, and the largest national provider of propane by portable tank exchange.
The story behind the Canadian giant—TransCanada Corp.
TransCanada Corporation (TRP) is based in Canada. It’s one of North America’s leading natural gas pipeline network owners. TransCanada also provides natural gas storage services.
XLU: How US Utilities Are Currently Valued
So far, US utilities have had a decent run this year. The Utilities Select Sector SPDR ETF (XLU) has risen more than 14%.
What Does Declining Water Usage Mean for Water Utilities?
Increasing efficiency with water has been a major reason behind falling water usage. Between 2005 and 2010, total water usage in the US fell by ~13%.
What Could Drive US Crude Oil Futures This Week?
WTI (West Texas Intermediate) crude oil (UWT) (USL) active futures tested $57.35 per barrel on November 6, 2017—the highest level in almost three years.
Will US Oil Rigs Support Crude Oil Bulls?
US crude oil rigs are near a five-month low. West Texas Intermediate (or WTI) crude oil (UWT) (DWT) prices are down 8.8% year-to-date (or YTD).
Hedge Funds’ Net Long Positions in US Crude Oil Rose Again
Hedge funds increased their net bullish positions in US crude oil futures and options rose by 36,834 contracts to 215,488 contracts on July 11–18, 2017.
Understanding the Master Limited Partnership Structure of Alliance Resource Partners
As of December 31, 2016, Alliance Resource Partners was being managed by its MGP, which is 100% owned, directly and indirectly, by AGHP.
Could Antero Midstream Partners Benefit from Strong Earnings?
Antero Midstream Partners fell 6% last year. However, it had a strong start to the new year. It has risen 6.8% in 2018.
Must-know update: Why the US oil rigs are up over 10% year-to-date
US oil rigs drilling are up over 10% year-to-date, supported by oil prices that have remained relatively stable around the $100 per barrel mark.
What Factors Could Drive Arch Coal Stock in 2H17?
1H17 in review Majority of the coal (KOL) stocks began 2017 on a weak note. The stocks have not been able to recoup from the slump until now. They have been outperformed by the broader market and the VanEck Vectors Coal ETF so far in 2017. On September 19, 2017, Arch Coal (ARCH) has fallen […]
LNG and EQM: Which Midstream Companies Outperformed Last Week?
Cheniere Energy (LNG) was among the top midstream gainers last week. The stock rose 2.8% during the week.
Will Brent and US Crude Oil Prices Rise in 2018?
November US crude oil (DWT)(UWT)(USO) futures are above their 20-day, 50-day, and 100-day moving averages at $49.25, $48.77, and $48.11 per barrel as of September 25.
Transocean Secured New Contracts
As of July 25, 2017, Transocean (RIG) had a backlog of $10.2 billion—compared to $10.8 billion in April 2017.
Must-know: US power sector and its indicators
The power sector is the backbone of any economy. All of the other industries depend on it. In the U.S., the power utilities business is characterized by steady dividends and stable earnings.
Decoding US Natural Gas Consumption Trends
PointLogic estimates that US natural gas consumption rose ~2.1% to 57.8 Bcf (billion cubic feet) per day from May 31 to June 6.
How Analysts Rate XOM
The graph above shows that eight out of the 24 analysts covering XOM have rated it a “buy” in April 2018.
US Distillate Inventories Rose for the Eighth Time in 10 Weeks
US distillate inventories rose by 0.64 MMbbls (million barrels) to 139.8 MMbbls on January 12–19, 2018, according to the EIA.