oil and gas

ARCHER DANIELS MIDLAND CO., $59.31, New York symbol ADM, is still a hold.

The company processes corn, wheat, soybeans, flax seed and other crops into a variety of food ingredients such as flour, oils and sweeteners. It’s also a leading producer of ethanol from corn, a gasoline additive that reduces harmful emissions.

Archer recently suspended its chief financial officer in response to concerns about the accounting practices at its nutrition division....

ENERPLUS CORP. $24 is a hold. The company (Toronto symbol ERF; Resources sector; Shares outstanding: 203.3 million; Market cap: $4.9 billion; Dividend yield: 1.4%; Takeover Target Rating: Highest; www.enerplus.com) produces oil and gas mostly from properties in the Bakken area of North Dakota, the DJ Basin in Colorado, and the Marcellus Shale in Pennsylvania.


The company has accepted a takeover bid from Chord Energy Corp....

Imperial Oil is now trading at all-time highs—and in fact, the stock has delivered a whopping 1,484.6% gain (not including dividends) for our investors since we first recommended it as a buy in April 1995. Still, we think the stock can go even higher.

Imperial is what is termed an “integrated oil”—that is, it has both upstream (production) and downstream (refining and petrochemicals) operations....

ROYAL BANK OF CANADA, $131.94, Toronto symbol RY, is a buy.

Due to concerns over rising interest rates and inflation, Canada’s largest bank by market cap continues to set aside more funds to cover potential loan losses.

In its fiscal 2024 first quarter, ended January 31, 2024, loan-loss provisions jumped 52.8%, to $813 million from $532 million a year earlier.

That’s mainly why Royal’s earnings before unusual items in the quarter fell 5.0%, to $4.01 billion from $4.22 billion....

The shares of oil and gas stocks remain high as energy demand stays strong. We continue to recommend that most investors maintain some exposure to the oil and gas industry as part of a balanced portfolio. But, to cut risk, you should stick with producers that have positive cash flow even in times of low energy prices....

ENERPLUS CORP., $23.98, (Toronto symbol ERF; Shares outstanding: 203.3 million; Market cap: $4.9 billion; TSINetwork Rating: Extra Risk; Dividend yield: 1.4%) produces oil and gas mostly from properties in the Bakken area of North Dakota, the DJ Basin in Colorado, and the Marcellus Shale in Pennsylvania.


The company’s shares have soared as it has now agreed to a takeover bid from Chord Energy (symbol CHRD on Nasdaq).


Enerplus shareholders will get 0.10125 shares of Chord and $1.84 U.S....

NVIDIA CORP., $788.17, Nasdaq symbol NVDA, remains a buy, but only for highly aggressive investors.

The company is a leading designer of 3D-capable video chips; they make video games run more smoothly and appear more lifelike. Nvidia has also adapted its chips for other applications, including artificial intelligence (AI), datacentres and self-driving cars.

The stock shot up 12% this week due to increasingly strong demand for chips that power AI applications, such as the popular ChatGPT online chatbot/search engine....

A: Cardinal Energy Ltd., $6.65, symbol CJ on Toronto (Shares outstanding: 158.5 million; Market cap: $1.05 billion; www.cardinalenergy.ca), is engaged in the acquisition, development, optimization and production of crude oil and natural gas in the provinces of Alberta, B.C....

BIRCHCLIFF ENERGY, $4.82, is a buy. The company (Toronto symbol BIR; TSINetwork Rating: Speculative) (Shares outstanding: 266.6 million; Market cap: $1.3 billion; Dividend yield: 8.3%) has cut your quarterly dividend by 50.0% due to lower natural gas prices....

INDIGO BOOKS & MUSIC INC. $2.06 is a hold. The company (Toronto symbol IDG; Consumer sector; Shares outstanding: 27.8 million; Market cap: $57.3 million; No dividend paid; Takeover Target Rating: Lowest; www.chapters.indigo.ca) operates 172 bookstores, mainly under the Chapters and Indigo banners.


Indigo’s major shareholders, Gerald W....