oil prices

SAPUTO INC. $40 (Toronto symbol SAP; Aggressive Growth Portfolio, Consumer sector; Shares outstanding: 388.7 million; Market cap: $15.5 billion; Price-to-sales ratio: 1.2; Dividend yield: 1.7%; TSINetwork Rating: Average; www.saputo.com) is Canada’s largest producer of dairy products, including milk, butter and cheese....

IMPERIAL OIL LTD. $35 (Toronto symbol IMO; Conservative Growth and Income Portfolios, Shares outstanding: 792.7 million; Market cap: $27.7 billion; Price-to-sales ratio: 0.8; Dividend yield: 2.2%; TSINetwork Rating: Average; www.imperialoil.ca) is Canada’s third-largest publicly traded oil company, after Suncor (No....

Declining commodity prices and international sanctions have hurt the Russian economy. But despite that, the country has proved surprisingly resilient. The economy is on a modest growth path, government finances are in reasonable shape, inflation is under control and the currency has stabilized.


Here is one ETF that provides exposure to the top Russian public companies.


VANECK VECTORS RUSSIA ETF $20.08 (New York symbol RSX; TSINetwork ETF Rating: Aggressive; Market cap: $1.5 billion) tracks the MVIS Russia Index, which includes publicly traded companies that are incorporated in Russia or that are incorporated outside of Russia but have at least 50% of their revenues/related assets in Russia.


Energy firms account for 41% of its assets, with commodities at 23%; Financial Services, 12%; Consumer Defensive, 8%; and Technology, 7.0%.


The ETF holds a portfolio of 27 stocks; the top 10 holdings make up a high 56% of its assets....

DELPHI ENERGY $0.37 (Toronto symbol DEE; TSINetwork Rating: Speculative) (403-265-6171; www.delphienergy.ca; Shares o/s: 185.5 million; Market cap: $70.5 million) explores for, develops and produces oil and gas.


In the quarter ended September 30, 2018, Delphi’s cash flow jumped 52.7%, to $11.6 million, or $0.06 a share, from $7.6 million, or $0.04, a year earlier....

In response to weaker oil and natural gas prices, Encana has decided to aggressively expand in the U.S., while Cenovus is cutting its output.


We’re confident that both approaches will pay off. However, Encana’s big, newly announced acquisition increases its risk, which is why the stock dropped sharply on the news....

Prospects for all three of these companies from our Aggressive Growth Portfolio continue to improve, either through acquisitions or cost cuts. Still, each stock fell sharply in 2018 and will likely remain depressed in 2019.


Instead of selling, however, we continue to recommend investors hold their shares....

Recently some Inner Circle members have asked why the price/earnings ratios, or P/Es, of automakers, such as Ford Motor Co., are as low as they are today. They wonder if these low P/Es represent a warning sign, or a buying opportunity. There’s no simple answer to that question....

ENERPLUS CORP. $12.89 (Toronto symbol ERF; Shares outstanding: 245.3 million; Market cap: $3.1 billion; TSINetwork Rating: Speculative; Dividend yield: 0.9%) produces oil and gas from properties in Western Canada—Alberta, Saskatchewan and B.C.—as well as North Dakota and Montana....

Natural gas has some of the most volatile and unpredictable price movements among mainstream commodities. In the past, this has caused considerable losses for even highly experienced trading teams at major financial institutions. Natural gas lived up to its reputation in November 2018 with the US Natural Gas ETF (UNG) delivering a 43.1% increase in the unit price....

When choosing oil stocks to invest in, we recommend income-seeking investors stick with big integrated producers like Suncor Energy and Imperial Oil.


Integrated producers have “upstream” oil and gas exploration and production assets, as well as “downstream” refining and marketing operations.


Refineries transform crude oil into useful products such as petroleum naphtha, gasoline, diesel fuel, asphalt base, heating oil, kerosene, liquefied petroleum gas, jet fuel and fuel oils....