As we head into Labor Day weekend, gasoline prices nationally are down about 21 cents a gallon from last year to around $3.57 a gallon, according to GasBuddy.com. Marking the traditional end of the summer driving season, next week�� holiday presents a good opportunity to look at gas prices around the country.
An unanticipated closure of an East Coast refinery sent prices soaring to a year-to-date high by mid-February. Gasoline prices have fluctuated since then, but have been trending slowly downward. Prices in some cities remain exceptionally high, however, at least 25 cents more than the national price. Gas in Honolulu as of earlier this week averaged $4.23 per gallon. These are the cities with the most expensive gas.
Click here to see the 10 cities
Americans are driving less and as newer, more fuel-efficient vehicles replace older ones in the country�� fleet, demand is also decreasing. The main reason that crude oil and gas prices remain high is uncertainty about the future availability of crude. Events in the Middle East, the source of more than a third of the world�� supply of crude, figure heavily in market prices for crude and eventually gasoline. The threat of military action in Syria has driven up crude and gas prices since late Monday, with West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude for October delivery trading near $109 a barrel on Tuesday.
Hot Transportation Companies To Watch In Right Now: SEACOR Holdings Inc (CKH)
SEACOR Holdings Inc, incorporated on November 7, 1989, is a global provider of equipment and services primarily supporting the offshore oil and gas and marine transportation industries. The Company offers customers a diversified suite of services, including offshore marine, aviation, inland river, marine transportation, crisis and emergency management preparedness and response solutions, commodity trading and logistics and offshore and harbor towing. On March 19, 2012, J.F. Lehman & Company acquired National Response Corporation and its affiliated businesses NRC Environmental Services, SEACOR Response, and SEACOR Environmental Products (collectively NRC) from the Company. In January 2013, the Company sold its energy trading division, SEACOR Energy Inc. to Par Petroleum Corporation. On January 31, 2013, it completed the spin off its Era Group Inc unit (Era).
Offshore Marine Services
The Company�� Marine operates a diversified fleet of vessels, servicing the offshore oil and gas exploration, development, and production industry worldwide.The Company�� marine provides its customers with the assembly of offshore vessel services in the global offshore oil and gas industry, including transport of personnel, platform supply, offshore accommodation, intervention, maintenance and repair support, standby safety services, anchor handling and mooring services, wind farm support, lift boat services, offshore construction support, well enhancement support, and lightering services.
Aviation Services
The Company�� aviation services subsidiary, Era Group (Era), is the helicopter operators globally. ra supports the oil and gas industry in the United States Gulf of Mexico, Alaska, and internationally. Era provides air medical services, firefighting support, flightseeing tours in Alaska, and Search and Rescue and Emergency Medical Services. Era's affiliate, Era Training Center, offers flight training services. Era also markets and distributes specialty helicopter! equipment and accessories.
Inland River Services
The Company�� Inland River Services group owns and operates modern river transportation equipment; owns covered and open hopper barges, 10,000 and 30,000 barrel tank barges, deck barges, inland river towboats and smaller harbor boats; and provides ancillary services along the United States Inland River Waterways and the Parana-Paraguay and the Magdalena River Systems in South America. SCF Marine operates a fleet of hopper barges along the United States Inland River Waterways and South America, transporting agricultural, industrial, and project cargoes. The liquid division, Supercritical Fluid (SCF) Liquids, is a integrated towboat and tank barge company, specializing in the transportation of chemical, clean, and dirty products. Gateway Terminals is among the newest ethanol and petroleum storage terminals on the Mississippi River, with a capacity of 400,000 barrels and the ability to receive and transfer products by barge, unit train, and truck.
Marine Transportation Services
The Company�� ocean shipping and harbor towing subsidiary, SEACOR Ocean Transport, is an owner and operator of equipment engaged in oil transportation, bunkering, harbor towing, Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) terminal support, short sea shipping and logistics, and third-party ship management services. Through all aspects of its operations, SEACOR Ocean Transport focuses to provide its customers with marine transportation solutions.
Commodity Trading and Logistics
The Company�� Commodity Trading and Logistics group specializes in the purchase, storage, transportation, and sale of agricultural and energy commodities, which include renewable fuels, blendstocks, sugar, rice, and salt. The Agricultural group is primarily focused on the global sourcing and logistics of sugar, rice, salt, and other dry bulk products. The Energy group is primarily focused on the domestic trading and transportation of physical e! thanol an! d clean blendstocks.
Harbor and Offshore Towing Services
The Company�� ocean shipping and harbor towing subsidiary, SEACOR Ocean Transport, is an operator of equipment engaged in oil transportation, bunkering, harbor towing, LNG terminal support, short sea shipping and logistics, and third-party ship management services. The harbor towing services group, Seabulk Towing, is a tugboat operator with operations along the Gulf Coast and Southeastern seaboard port system from Cape Canaveral, Florida, to Port Arthur, Texas. Seabulk Island Transport owns and operates four ocean tugs and five ocean liquid tank barges.
Advisors' Opinion:- [By Traders Reserve]
For investors who want a piece of this developing trend, Transocean and Seadrill are two of the bigger players in this arena. Other offshore drillers/rig operators are Noble (NE) and Ensco (ESV). Companies that provide services to offshore drillers and benefit from increases in exploration and drilling activity are Gulfmark Offshore (GLF), Hornbeck (HOS), Seacor (CKH) and Tidewater (TDW).
- [By Seth Jayson]
Margins matter. The more Seacor Holdings (NYSE: CKH ) keeps of each buck it earns in revenue, the more money it has to invest in growth, fund new strategic plans, or (gasp!) distribute to shareholders. Healthy margins often separate pretenders from the best stocks in the market. That's why we check up on margins at least once a quarter in this series. I'm looking for the absolute numbers, so I can compare them to current and potential competitors, and any trend that may tell me how strong Seacor Holdings's competitive position could be.
Top 5 Oil Stocks To Own Right Now: Matador Resources Co (MTDR)
Matador Resources Company is an independent energy company engaged in the exploration, development, production and acquisition of oil and natural gas resources in the United States, with an emphasis on oil and natural gas shale and other unconventional plays. Its operations are focused primarily on the oil and liquids-rich portion of the Eagle Ford shale play in South Texas and the Wolfcamp and Bone Spring plays in the Permian Basin in Southeast New Mexico and West Texas. The Company also operates in the Haynesville shale and Cotton Valley plays in Northwest Louisiana and East Texas. In addition, it has a large exploratory leasehold position in Southwest Wyoming and adjacent areas of Utah and Idaho where it is testing the Meade Peak shale.
As of December 31, 2012, the Company owned a 100% working interest in approximately 26,900 gross acres and 24,100 net acres in Gonzales, Karnes, LaSalle, Wilson and Zavala Counties and a 50% working interest in approximately 2,800 gross and 1,400 net acres in DeWitt County and are the operator of this acreage. It also owns an approximate 21% working interest in approximately 12,800 gross acres in Atascosa County operated by EOG Resources, Inc.
South Texas
The Company focuses on the exploration and development of its Eagle Ford shale properties in South Texas. During 2012, the Company completed and began producing oil and natural gas from 28 gross/24.5 net operated Eagle Ford shale wells, including 25 gross/23.7 net operated and 3 gross/0.8 net non-operated Eagle Ford shale wells. During 2012, 43% of its daily production, or 3,908 barrels of oil equivalent (BOE) per day, including 3,246 one stock tank barrel (Bbl) of oil per day and 4.0 one million cubic feet of natural gas (MMcf) of natural gas per day, was produced from the Eagle Ford shale in South Texas. During 2012, the Company drilled and completed a total of 32 gross/30.5 net Eagle Ford wells on its operated properties. As of December 31, 2012, its aggregate leasehold int! erests consisted of approximately 42,500 gross acres and 27,900 net acres in the Eagle Ford shale play in Atascosa, DeWitt, Gonzales, Karnes, LaSalle, Wilson and Zavala Counties in South Texas.
Northwest Louisiana and East Texas
During 2012, bout 56% of its average daily production, or 5,042 BOE per day, including 31 Bbl of oil per day and 30.1 MMcf of natural gas per day, was from its leasehold interests in Northwest Louisiana and East Texas. For the year ended December 31, 2012, about 76% of its daily natural gas production, or 26.0 MMcf of natural gas per day, was produced from the Haynesville shale, with another 12%, or 4.1 MMcf of natural gas per day, produced from the Cotton Valley and other shallower formations in this area. As of December 31, 2012, the Company had leasehold and mineral interests in approximately 22,300 gross and 14,200 net acres prospective for the Haynesville shale.
Advisors' Opinion:- [By Ben Levisohn]
Heading into today, Matador Resources (MTDR) had gained 40% so far this year, as the competitor to Anadarko Petroleum (APC) and EOG Resources (EOG) has boosted oil & gas revenue and oil production. Make that 32% after Matador Resources announced a secondary offering.
Top 5 Oil Stocks To Own Right Now: Pacific Drilling SA (PACD)
Pacific Drilling S.A., incorporated on March 22, 2011, is an international offshore drilling Company. The Company is a provider of ultra-deepwater drilling services to the oil and natural gas industry through the use of high-specification drilling rigs. The Company�� primary business is to contract its ultra-deepwater drilling rigs, related equipment and work crews, primarily on a dayrate basis, to drill wells for its customers. The Company is primarily focused on the ultra-deepwater market. The Company generally consider ultra-deepwater to begin at water depths of more than 7,500 feet and to extend to the maximum water depths, in which rigs are capable of drilling, which is approximately 12,000 feet.
The Company operates four drillships and has four drillships under construction, two of which are under customer contract. In connection with the Restructuring, the Company�� Predecessor was contributed to a wholly owned subsidiary of the Company by a subsidiary of Quantum Pacific International Limited.
Advisors' Opinion:- [By Aaron Levitt]
Management recently announced a hefty 50% hike in its quarterly dividend to 37.5 cents per share of NE stock. And with a 4.8% dividend yield, NE stock is now one of the best-paying dividend stocks in the energy sector.
Dividend Stocks To Buy #5 — Pacific Drilling (PACD)Estimated Dividend Yield: 6.5%
- [By Roberto Pedone]
Pacific Drilling (PACD) is an international offshore drilling contractor committed to becoming the preferred provider of ultra-deepwater drilling services to the oil and natural gas industry through the use of high-specification rigs. This stock closed up 1% to $9.94 in Thursday's trading session.
Thursday's Range: $9.87-$10.00
52-Week Range: $8.63-$10.99
Thursday's Volume: 450,000
Three-Month Average Volume: 308,772From a technical perspective, PACD bounced modestly higher here right above its 50-day moving average of $9.67 with above-average volume. This stock has been trending sideways and consolidating for the last five months, with shares moving between $8.89 on the downside and $10.23 on the upside. Shares of PACD are now starting to trend within range of triggering a breakout trade above the upper-end of its recent sideways trading chart pattern. That trade will hit if PACD manages to take out some key overhead resistance levels at $10.14 to $10.23 with high volume.
Traders should now look for long-biased trades in PACD as long as it's trending above its 50-day at $9.81 and then once it sustains a move or close above those breakout levels with volume that hits near or above 308,772 shares. If that breakout triggers soon, then PACD will set up to re-test or possibly take out its next major overhead resistance levels at $10.71 to its 52-week high at $10.99. Any high-volume move above $10.99 will then put its all-time high at $11.47 within range for shares of PACD.
Top 5 Oil Stocks To Own Right Now: Halliburton Company(HAL)
Halliburton Company provides various products and services to the energy industry for the exploration, development, and production of oil and natural gas worldwide. It operates in two segments, Completion and Production, and Drilling and Evaluation. The Completion and Production segment offers production enhancement services, completion tools and services, cementing services, and Boots & Coots. Its production enhancement services include stimulation and sand control services; completion tools and services comprise subsurface safety valves and flow control equipment, surface safety systems, packers and specialty completion equipment, intelligent completion systems, expandable liner hanger systems, sand control systems, well servicing tools, and reservoir performance services; cementing services consist of bonding the well and well casing, while isolating fluid zones and maximizing wellbore stability, and casing equipment; and Boots & Coots include well intervention services , pressure control, equipment rental tools and services, and pipeline and process services. The Drilling and Evaluation segment provides field and reservoir modeling, drilling, evaluation, and wellbore placement solutions that enable customers to model, measure, and optimize their well construction activities. Its services comprise fluid services, drilling services, drill bits, wireline and perforating services, testing and subsea services, software and asset solutions, and integrated project management and consulting services. The company serves independent, integrated, and national oil companies. Halliburton Company was founded in 1919 and is headquartered in Houston, Texas.
Advisors' Opinion:- [By Tyler Crowe]
Another reason that shale gas development has not as quickly developed is a lack of clear patent protection laws,�especially�in China. While both Schlumberger (NYSE: SLB ) and Haliburton (NYSE: HAL ) have expressed an interest in developing Chinese shale gas, a lack of intellectual-property protection has them hesitant to going all in. Rather, both companies have taken minority interests in smaller,�Chinese-based companies and plan to take orders of drilling fluids and equipment. These kinds of moves are not necessary in the U.S. and have allowed companies to protect and profit from their expertise.
- [By Arjun Sreekumar]
Though the trial is ongoing, it illustrates the financial and reputational damage that can follow when a piece of equipment fails and leads to a major disaster. Suffice it to say that all parties involved, including BP, which operated the rig, Transocean, which built and staffed the rig, and Halliburton (NYSE: HAL ) , which was placed in charge of cementing and monitoring the well, have suffered a hit to their reputations as a result of their involvement in the oil spill.
- [By Matt DiLallo]
Along with announcing earnings, both Halliburton (NYSE: HAL ) and Schlumberger (NYSE: SLB ) announced multi-billion-dollar stock buybacks. With so much money on the line, investors have to ask if this is the right move for these two oil-field service giants. Are these stocks cheap enough to warrant the buybacks or should these companies consider other options for those funds?
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