Tag: adam feik

An Interesting Shale Play

Posted on by Adam Feik

Adam Feik - INO.com Contributor - Energies


One stock that has caught my attention the last couple months has been Pioneer Natural Resources (PXD).

Simply put, every analyst or article I've read agrees PXD has a solid balance sheet, exceptional management, favorable hedging positions through 2016, low production costs, and some of the most productive oil field acreage in the business. Plus, the stock seems to be trending higher within a trading channel that bears the appearance of a good strong bottoming formation – even while trading more than 30% below its 52-week high.

U.S. Shale Oil

Shale is still a dangerous place to play, no doubt about it. Oil and gas prices continue to flirt with a continuation of their precipitous declines since last June 20th. Further oil-price deterioration would surely affect shale companies like PXD.

On the other hand, if you're game for a little bottom-fishing and want to stay with high quality, take a look at Pioneer. Continue reading "An Interesting Shale Play" →

Swim Midstream with Pipeline MLPs

Posted on by Adam Feik

Adam Feik - INO.com Contributor - Energies


Continuing my little mini-series on energy investments that are actually performing (see also my recent refiners and solar articles), today I’ll turn my attention to pipelines.

Many pipeline companies, of course, remain very profitable despite the crash in oil prices, since the vast majority of pipeline companies’ revenue typically comes from fees paid by its oil-producer customers based on the quantity, or volume, of oil and petroleum products transported. Thus, energy pipeline companies (commonly structured as Master Limited Partnerships, or MLPs) are normally not terribly sensitive to oil price changes. Further, MLP stocks historically exhibit little correlation to oil prices, over the long term.

A company with rising dividends, solid management, AND a great technical setup

Take a look at Magellan Midstream Partners (NYSE: MMP; chart courtesy of MarketClub). Continue reading "Swim Midstream with Pipeline MLPs" →

Solar Stocks Heat Up

Posted on by Adam Feik

Adam Feik - INO.com Contributor - Energies


I wrote about oil refiners – and the phenomenal performance of their stocks – on Monday. Today I'm writing about another energy sector that has been hot the last few weeks; namely, solar stocks.

Let's take First Solar (Nasdaq:FSLR), for example. Here's a stock that's gone from $70/share 6 months ago to $40/share 1 month ago, and now almost back to $60.

FSLR's all-time high is over $300, back in the summer of 2008. The stock spent the rest of '08 crashing, but then stabilized until February 2011, when FSLR peaked around $175 before crashing all the way to $12 in May 2012 (see chart from Yahoo! Finance, below). From that low point, FSLR enjoyed a nice, even, steady uptrend for the next 2 years. On June 20, 2014, when oil peaked at just above $107/barrel, FSLR was trading around $70 per share. FSLR's $30 haircut from June 2014 – January 2015 almost perfectly coincided with oil's big decline. Solar investors, of course, understand that solar becomes a more attractive energy alternative when oil prices are high, and vice versa. Continue reading "Solar Stocks Heat Up" →

Pros and Cons of the U.S. Shale Oil Boom (Really?)

Posted on by Adam Feik

Adam Feik - INO.com Contributor - Energies


Ten years ago, who would have imagined this headline?

I remember a comment made almost in passing by a mentor of mine, circa 2005. At the time, oil prices had spiked north of $50 per barrel, which was historically very high, and appeared set to continue rising. Worse, the U.S. – and a large segment of our economy – seemed almost totally dependent upon foreign countries harboring various levels of hostility against us.

Against this backdrop, my mentor said something to this effect: "What the U.S. needs is like another 'Manhattan Project' – only this time, the project would be coming up with a way for our country to become energy independent."

Perhaps you have similar memories of "pre-fracking boom" life in America. Continue reading "Pros and Cons of the U.S. Shale Oil Boom (Really?)" →

The History & Likelihood Of V-shaped Oil Recoveries

Posted on by Adam Feik

Adam Feik - INO.com Contributor - Energies


In recent days, crude oil and natural gas prices have continued to undulate within a range near their lows. What’s next for the commodities, and for the energy companies whose fortunes are joined at the hip of oil and gas?

With producers like Shell, Occidental Petroleum, BP, and ConocoPhillips announcing big-dollar capital spending cuts, will oil’s chart soon be tracing a V-shape?

Will history rhyme?

Phil Flynn presented the following analysis in his article for Futures Magazine yesterday:

“In 12 data points when oil had a break of 40% or more within a year the market rallied back 52.8% within 12 months. Even when the break was only 30% with 20 times the rebound was still a very impressive 45.5% within 12 months. This snap back comes usually as the market realizes that a period of low prices will stimulate demand and cut backs in production will take their toll.”

Richard Hirayama, portfolio manager for WHV Investments, provided a similar perspective – based on calendar years – in his portfolio manager letter this month. Hirayama furnished this nugget: Continue reading "The History & Likelihood Of V-shaped Oil Recoveries" →