Stocks That Are Outperforming Their Markets

If you’re interested in a career as an oil company engineer, there are some important factors to consider when choosing a company. These include its reputation, its track record, and its leadership. You should also take into account the level of training and experience the company offers. For example, some companies, such as Halliburton, offer apprenticeships in which students learn the job from someone who has been working at the company for years.

Occidental Petroleum

Occidental Petroleum is one of the top performing stocks in the S&P 500. It’s up 150% in the past year, and Warren Buffett has thrown his support behind it.

The oil and gas giant has a diverse portfolio of assets, with investments in oil and gas production, refining, chemicals, and even carbon management. And it’s one of the first companies to explore shale oil.

Occidental Petroleum’s balance sheet is solid, and it has a call option to capitalize on high oil prices. And it has a strong midstream segment, which provides flow assurance for volumes.

However, the Occidental’s balance sheet is only partially a reflection of its performance. During the past three years, the company has been reducing its pro forma debt by $8 billion, but its net debt is still nearing the peak it reached in 2012. This means that Occidental needs oil prices to stay above $40 a barrel for at least a couple of years to be profitable.

Murphy Oil

If you are an energy investor, you have probably noticed that Murphy Oil has beaten the rest of the Oils-Energy group in the last year. That is because Murphy has delivered solid results, and it has a strong balance sheet.

The stock has gained 119.7% over the past year, which is better than the average gain for the Oils-Energy group as a whole. It also outperformed the S&P Midcap 400 index and the S&P 500 by a wide margin.

While the stock has retreated from all-time highs, its key financial indicators look good. For instance, the company generates $847 million in free cash flow. This should be an indicator of a healthy growth trajectory.

ExxonMobil

The recent drop in oil prices is having an effect on the energy sector. As a result, Exxon Mobil shares have risen to new highs, with investors expressing confidence in the company’s financial health. Although the energy sector has outperformed the wider market since the beginning of 2022, it appears that generalist investors are still underweight the sector.

Analysts at Raymond James & Associates say that the increased prices of core products have helped Exxon’s bottom line. This is a good sign for the future of the company’s stock. However, investors should keep in mind that a number of oil companies are struggling on the stock market.

Halliburton

Halliburton (HAL) recently reported strong quarterly results. It booked an adjusted per-share profit of 60 cents in the three months through September. This was far above the average Bloomberg survey estimate of 38 cents.

In the third quarter, Halliburton’s revenues increased 38%. This included $2.7 billion in revenues from international operations. Compared to the second quarter, Halliburton’s international growth improved 3%.

The company spent 80% of its frack-fleet manufacturing effort on refurbishments. In addition to refurbishments, Halliburton spends about 20% on new fabrication.

Halliburton’s Completion and Production division provides stimulation, wellbore placement, intervention, and pressure control services. The drilling and evaluation segment offers field and reservoir modeling, drilling evaluation solutions, and wellbore testing services.

Canadian Natural Resources

Canadian Natural Resources (CNQ) is one of the top oil companies in Canada. Its shares have outperformed its peers in the last three months. The company has been reinvesting cash to return to shareholders. And it has been racking up operational wins.

As a low cost operator, it has been able to reap more profits from high oil prices. The company has a big presence in the oil sands of Alberta. These assets offer relatively low extraction costs and long reserve lives.

In the last quarter, it increased its dividend payout by 28%. This is the largest dividend increase in its 21-year history.

Enbridge

Enbridge (ENB) is an energy infrastructure company that operates the largest crude oil transportation system in the world. Its operations span from Canada’s northern oil patch to the Gulf of Mexico. Among other things, Enbridge facilitates the storage and transportation of oil and natural gas.

The company has an enviable balance sheet, thanks to a large portfolio of fee-based contracts. These are important because a pipeline operator can recover the operational costs of building new pipelines through rate increases. During the oil crisis, rates were a little high, but thankfully, the demand for energy has increased, and Enbridge has remained profitable.