Since the beginning of the year, the stock markets have been experiencing wild price swings driven by rising investor concerns over high inflation, growing tensions related to Ukraine and Russia hostilities, and forthcoming Federal Reserve Bank interest rate increases. The benchmark S&P 500 index is down 8% year-to-date and 4.6% over the past three months. However…
several S&P 500 stocks, including Occidental Petroleum Corporation (OXY – Get Rating), Halliburton Company (HAL – Get Rating), and Marathon Oil Corporation (MRO – Get Rating), are up more than 30% in price year-to-date. These energy stocks have been in focus of late as Brent crude crossed the $100 a barrel for the first time since 2014. The escalating tensions between major oil-exporting and transportation countries Russia and Ukraine have caused oil prices to skyrocket.
Given this backdrop, we think it could be wise to add these stocks to one’s watchlist.
Occidental Petroleum Corporation (OXY – Get Rating)
OXY in Houston, Tex., is an energy company that is engaged in oil and gas exploration and production activities in the United States, the Middle East, and Africa. The company operates through three segments: Oil and Gas; Chemical; and Midstream and Marketing.
On Oct. 13, 2021, OXY announced that it had agreed to sell its interests in two offshore fields in Ghana for $750 million to Kosmos Energy and Ghana National Petroleum Corp. The sale will likely help the company reduce its debt.
OXY’s revenue increased 90.2% year-over-year to $7.91 billion for the fourth quarter, ended Dec. 31, 2021. The company’s adjusted net income came in at $1.44 billion, versus an adjusted net loss of $610 million. Also, its adjusted EPS was $1.48, compared to a $0.65 adjusted loss per share.
Analysts expect OXY’s EPS and revenue for the quarter ending March 31, 2022, to increase 813.3% and 25.2%, respectively, year-over-year to $1.07 and $6.86 billion. The stock has gained 33.6% in price year-to-date to close the last trading session at $38.74.
OXY’s strong fundamentals are reflected in its POWR Ratings. The stock has an overall B rating, which equates to a Buy in our proprietary rating system.
It has an A grade for Momentum and a B grade for Growth and Sentiment. It is ranked #24 out of 82 stocks in the A-rated Energy – Oil & Gas industry. Click here to see the additional ratings of OXY for Value, Stability, and Quality.
Halliburton Company (HAL – Get Rating)
HAL provides services and products to the upstream oil and natural gas industry throughout the lifecycle of the reservoir, from locating hydrocarbons and managing geological data to the drilling and formation evaluation, well construction and completion, and optimizing production throughout the life of the field. It operates through the Completion and Production segment and the Drilling and Evaluation segment. HAL is headquartered in Houston, Tex.
On Jan. 31, 2022, HAL introduced Obex IsoLock; a new compression set packer that prevents casing pressure. It is an effective barrier to mitigate fluid migration and support multiple-stage cementing through integrated stage cementing ports in the tool. Cementing’s VP Matt Lang said, “Along with the cement barrier, the Obex IsoLock packer collar provides our customers with additional assurance to prevent fluid migration that can lead to SCP. As a result…
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