oil and gas

Despite a recent decision by OPEC to cut production, crude oil prices are still down about 10% since the start of 2023. That’s largely due to slowing economic growth in China, even after lifting most COVID-19 restrictions. High interest rates have also increased fears of a slowdown in the U.S....

IMPERIAL OIL LTD., $62.34, Toronto symbol IMO, is a buy.

This company gets about 90% of its production from oil sands operations in Alberta. Imperial also has conventional oil and natural gas operations in the West and holds stakes in offshore projects in Atlantic Canada.

Its other operations include three refineries (one in Alberta, two in Ontario) and a petrochemical plant in Sarnia, Ontario.

With the July 2023 payment, Imperial will raise your quarterly dividend by 13.6%, to $0.50 a share from $0.44....

The shares of oil and gas stocks remain high as energy demand continues to be 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 your risk, you should stick with producers that have positive cash flow even in times of low energy prices....

This week’s Spotlight analysis of Alimentation Couche-Tard shows that the potentially risky tactic of growth-by-acquisition can pay off nicely when a well-managed company applies that strategy conservatively in a fragmented industry with low-risk takeover opportunities.

We first recommended Alimentation Couche-Tard in December 2008, at $15.50 a share....

A: Teledyne Technologies Inc., $419.96, symbol TDY on New York (Shares outstanding: 47.0 million; Market cap: $20.0 billion; Manufacturing sector; TSINetwork Rating: Extra Risk; www.teledyne.com), provides advanced technology products and services to the energy, oceanographic research, environmental monitoring, electronic design and development, factory automation, and medical imaging markets.

The company operates primarily in the U.S., the U.K., and Western and Northern Europe....

SHAWCOR LTD. $12 is a buy, but only for highly aggressive investors. The company (Toronto symbol SCL; Aggressive Growth Portfolio, Manufacturing & Industry sector; Shares outstanding: 70.5 million; Market cap: $846.0 million; Price-to-sales ratio: 0.7; Dividend suspended in March 2020; TSINetwork Rating: Average; www.shawcor.com) is conducting a strategic review of its businesses that serve the oil and gas industry—Pipeline Performance Group, Shaw Pipeline Services, and Oilfield Asset Management....

OVINTIV INC., $52.95, is a buy. The energy producer (Toronto symbol OVV; Shares outstanding: 243.6 million; Market cap: $12.8 billion; TSINetwork Rating: Average; Dividend yield: 2.6%) operates three core properties: Montney (B.C.), Anadarko (Oklahoma) and Permian (Texas)....

CRESCENT POINT ENERGY, $10.13, is a buy for aggressive investors. The company (Toronto symbol CPG; Shares outstanding: 548.0 million; Market cap: $5.5 billion; TSINetwork Rating: Speculative; Dividend yield: 4.0%; www.crescentpointenergy.com) produces oil and gas in Western Canada, with a focus on its Bakken light oil development in southeastern Saskatchewan.


Crescent Point has now agreed to pay $1.7 billion to acquire oil assets in the northwestern region of Alberta from Spartan Delta Corp....

Prices for commodities such as crude oil, iron ore and copper have weakened lately as investor fear rising interest rates will trigger an economic slowdown. Even so, we continue to recommend all investors maintain exposure to resources as the sector’s high-quality producers will still gain as the economy rebounds.


CHEVRON CORP....

Oil and gas stocks have moved up as the U.S. and other economies recover. The war in Ukraine has also spurred prices. We recommend that most investors maintain exposure to the oil and gas industry as part of a balanced portfolio. But to cut risk, you should focus on producers with positive cash flow even at low energy prices....