USO

Schlumberger Recovering, Outlook Bright

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Image Shown: Shares of Schlumberger NV are on the upswing, though the company’s stock price remains far below levels seen before the COVID-19 pandemic. By Callum Turcan On October 22, the oilfield services giant Schlumberger NV (SLB) reported third-quarter 2021 earnings that missed consensus top-line estimates and matched consensus bottom-line estimates. The company’s business continues to recover as oil & gas investment activity is picking up steam around the globe after getting decimated last year in the face of the coronavirus (‘COVID-19’) pandemic. Looking ahead, Schlumberger expects significant improvement in its mid-cycle financial performance from current levels, aided by major cost structure improvements embarked on last year. Financial Snapshot The firm’s GAAP revenues grew by 11% year-over-year due to growth … Read more

Booming Natural Gas Prices Great News for Chevron and ExxonMobil

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Image Shown: Chevron Corporation – August 2021 IR Presentation By Callum Turcan Natural gas prices in the US measured by the Henry Hub benchmark (UNG) based in Erath, Louisiana, have surged higher over the past several months. This is partially due to the slowdown in domestic oil & gas development activity that occurred back in 2020 in the wake of the coronavirus (‘COVID-19’) pandemic and low crude oil prices. Though crude oil prices, measured by the domestic WTI (USO) and international Brent (BNO) benchmarks, have since recovered, that has not resulted in domestic drilling activity returning to levels seen in 2019, though development activity has recovered somewhat. Henry Hub futures are trading north of $5 per million British thermal units … Read more

Our Two Favorite Midstream MLPs: EPD and MMP

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Image Source: Enterprise Products Partners L.P. – August 2021 IR Presentation In our High Yield Dividend Newsletter portfolio (more on that here), we include Enterprise Products Partners L.P. (EPD)—8.1% yield—and Magellan Midstream Partners L.P. (MMP)—8.7% yield—as ideas with modest “weightings” as these are our two favorite midstream master limited partnerships (‘MLPs’). The global economy is steadily recovering from the worst of the coronavirus (‘COVID-19’) pandemic, though variants of the virus remain a concern. Enterprise Products and Magellan Midstream are well-positioned to capitalize on this recovery while continuing to make good on their “generous” payout obligations. Enterprise Products  When Enterprise Products reported its second quarter 2021 earnings in late-July 2021, the midstream MLP showcased the positive impact the ongoing recovery in … Read more

Valuentum Weekly

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Image: Bitcoin, technology and large cap growth have led the pack the past 5 years while pipeline MLPs, crude oil and energy stocks have fallen way behind. Large cap growth > small cap value. Bonds, non-US stocks continue to lag. The Valuentum Weekly is a brand-new weekly market commentary from Valuentum Securities, released each weekend in digital form. The Valuentum Weekly offers members a weekly synopsis of the markets and major events. It will be straight and to-the-point. Our goal is to deliver to you the latest information and insights. We welcome your feedback on how we can make the Valuentum Weekly as useful and as relevant for you as ever! Takeaways The markets offer investors an asymmetric risk opportunity, … Read more

Chevron Posts a Great Earnings Update, Share Repurchases to Resume

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Image Shown: An overview of Chevron Corporation’s performance in the second quarter of 2021. We include shares of Chevron as an idea in both our Best Ideas Newsletter and Dividend Growth Newsletter portfolios and continue to be huge fans of the name as the global energy complex continues to recover from the worst of the coronavirus (‘COVID-19 pandemic). Image Source: Chevron Corporation – Second Quarter of 2021 IR Earnings Presentation By Callum Turcan We added shares of Chevron Corporation (CVX) as an idea to both the Best Ideas Newsletter and Dividend Growth Newsletter portfolios back on June 27, 2021 (link here). The outlook for the global energy complex continues to improve significantly from the worst of the coronavirus (‘COVID-19’) pandemic, … Read more

Chinese Stocks Getting Hammered

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Image shown: A confluence of factors are driving Chinese stocks lower, not the least of which is heightened regulatory concerns. By Brian Nelson, CFA The collapse in Chinese equities (FXI) (MCHI) during the trading session July 26 is a reminder (again) why you should consider combining momentum with *enterprise valuation* in stocks, as in the Valuentum process. It’s not enough for you to think a stock is undervalued or cheap. The market must agree with you, too. A falling stock price says the market disagrees. Our favorite ideas for consideration are always in the newsletter portfolios, whether the Best Ideas Newsletter portfolio, Dividend Growth Newsletter portfolio, or High Yield Dividend Newsletter portfolio. We do not have any direct exposure to … Read more

ExxonMobil’s Immense Upside in Guyana

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Image Source: ExxonMobil Corporation – 2021 Investor Day Presentation By Callum Turcan On June 27, we added shares of ExxonMobil Corporation (XOM) as an idea to the Best Ideas Newsletter portfolio and the Dividend Growth Newsletter portfolio (link here). The backdrop for the energy complex has improved considerably in recent months. Raw energy resources pricing has surged in the wake of demand for refined petroleum products beginning to recover in earnest, while demand for various petrochemical products is also on the rise. Near-term Brent and WTI futures are trading north of $70 a barrel as of this writing, keeping in mind Brent averaged ~$60-61 per barrel and WTI averaged ~$57-$58 per barrel during the first three months of 2021. On … Read more

Energy: A Small Part of the S&P 500 But Making a Comeback

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Image Source: Bureau of Land Management By Callum Turcan and Brian Nelson, CFA The energy sector remains a small part of the S&P 500 (SPY), coming in at just ~3% nowadays. Collapsing energy resource prices, overspending on capital projects, and a fallout in the pipeline MLP space have been primary causes for the sector’s ever-shrinking representation in the S&P 500 over the past five years or so, but we still think some exposure is warranted. For starters, we currently include a 1-2% weighting in the Energy Select Sector SPDR (XLE) and a 3%-5% weighting in energy-heavy Berkshire Hathaway (BRK.B) in the Best Ideas Newsletter portfolio. During the past several months, raw energy resource pricing, from crude oil (USO) to natural … Read more

Chevron’s Forward-Looking Dividend Coverage is Becoming Stressed

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Image Shown: Chevron Corporation reduced its capital expenditure expectations a couple of times this year, though that still has not enabled the firm to generate meaningful free cash flows given the various headwinds facing its businesses. Image Source: Chevron Corporation – November 2020 IR Presentation By Callum Turcan On October 30, Chevron Corporation (CVX) reported third quarter earnings for 2020. As expected, it was a brutal report from Chevron. The ongoing coronavirus (‘COVID-19’) pandemic decimated global energy demand and severely weakened raw energy resources pricing at a time when refining margins are quite weak. This double whammy saw Chevron post a $0.2 billion GAAP net loss in the third quarter of 2020 as its revenues tanked. Dividend Coverage Facing Serious … Read more

Our Thoughts on Magellan Midstream’s Latest Earnings

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Image Shown: Keeping the many headwinds facing the energy infrastructure space in mind, Magellan Midstream Partners LP remains one of our favorite midstream master limited partnerships. Image Source: Magellan Midstream Partners LP – October 2020 IR Presentation By Callum Turcan On October 30, Magellan Midstream Partners LP (MMP) reported third quarter 2020 earnings that beat both top- and bottom-line consensus estimates. The midstream master limited partnership (‘MLP’) space has faced enormous headwinds due to the ongoing coronavirus (‘COVID-19’) pandemic, though the firm was still able to generate sizable free cash flows during the first nine months of 2020. Magellan Midstream is a modestly-weighted holding in the High Yield Dividend Newsletter portfolio, and as of this writing, units of MMP yield … Read more