Energy Stocks

Resource and commodity stocks in general should make up only a limited portion of your portfolio—say less than 20% for a conservative investor or as much as 30% for an aggressive investor. And as part of that segment, energy stocks could make up, say half of that total. The rest could be fertilizer stocks, mining stocks and so on.

Oil and gas stocks have been below-average performers lately, and many investors are tempted to get out of the industry altogether. However, the energy sector can play a crucial role in your portfolio as a hedge against inflation. The low inflation rates of the past couple of decades deserve some of the blame for the poor performance of the sector. However, energy stocks will likely rebound in years to come as the global economy recovers.

  1. Invest mainly in well-established companies;
  2. Spread your money out across most if not all of the five main economic sectors (Manufacturing & Industry; Resources & Commodities; Consumer; Finance; Utilities);
  3. Downplay or avoid stocks in the broker/media limelight.

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Energy Stocks Library Archives

Demand for Major Drilling’s specialized services has now mostly recovered. Meanwhile, Computer Modelling is benefiting from expanding oil and gas drilling in response to overall higher energy prices. We think there are still gains ahead for both stocks.


MAJOR DRILLING, $9.68, is a buy. This large contract driller (Toronto symbol MDI; TSINetwork: Speculative) (majordrilling.com; Shares outstanding: 82.1 million; Market cap: $794.7 million; No dividends paid) is an industry player, mainly serving miners.


In the quarter ended January 31, 2024, the company’s revenue fell 11.0%, to $132.8 million from $149.2 million a year earlier....
In addition to Suncor (see page 41), we also like the outlook for these three oil producers. Like Suncor, they have used their stronger cash flows in the past few years to pay down debt. That is giving them more room for dividend increases and share buybacks.


IMPERIAL OIL LTD....
According to the International Energy Agency, global oil demand grew by 2.3 million barrels per day in 2023 to 103 million barrels. The agency now expects oil use to increase by 1.3 million barrels a day in 2024. That higher demand has helped push up crude oil prices by 20% since the start of the year to $86 U.S....

METRO INC., $71.12, is a buy. The company (Toronto symbol MRU; Shares outstanding: 227.0 million; Market cap: $16.3 billion; TSINetwork Rating: Average; Dividend yield: 1.9%; www.metro.ca) will close its produce distribution centre based in Ottawa in May....
IMPERIAL OIL LTD., $97.84, is a buy. The company (Toronto symbol IMO; Shares o/s: 535.8 million; Market cap: $51.7 billion; TSINetwork Rating: Average; Dividend yield: 2.5%; www.imperialoil.ca) gets over 90% of its production from oil sands operations in Alberta....

We recommend that most investors maintain some exposure to the oil and gas industry as part of a balanced portfolio. That’s mainly because it offers a hedge (some protection) against inflation.


To further cut your risk, you should focus mainly on high-quality producers, like Chevron, with large reserves in politically stable countries....
CENOVUS ENERGY INC. $24 is a buy. The country’s third-largest oil producer (Toronto symbol CVE; Conservative Growth Portfolio, Resources sector; Shares outstanding: 1.9 billion; Market cap: $45.6 billion; Price-to-sales ratio: 0.8; Dividend yield 2.3%; TSINetwork Rating: Average; www.cenovus.com) plans to spend between $4.5 billion and $5.0 billion on exploration and upgrades in 2024....
CENOVUS ENERGY, $23.42, is a buy for long-term gains. The company (Toronto symbol CVE; Shares o/s: 1.9 billion; Market cap: $44.4 billion; TSINetwork Rating: Average; Yield: 2.4%; www.cenovus.com) expects to spend between $4.5 billion and $5.0 billion on exploration and upgrades in 2024....

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....