I disagree that the best value is in the majors - I favor the Canadians and the US independents, but otherwise, the article sums it up.
Energy Stocks Slump As Oil Prices Continue To Rise - Tulsa World, Oklahoma, March 3
When oil prices rise, energy stocks usually tag along for the ride. It's one of the industry's most fundamental and predictable market reactions.
This historic trend, though, has been turned upside down.
For several months, energy stocks have steadily declined, sliding lower as oil prices get higher. Analysts blame investors' growing interest in technology stocks for the declining value of energy stocks.
"Investors are attracted to growth stocks, particularly high-technology growth stocks," said Ed Maran, a senior oil analyst for A.G. Edwards & Sons Inc. in St. Louis. "Individual investors are taking their money and either buying technology stocks or putting their money into funds that invest in technology stocks."
Such a shift in investment, however, may not be wise, Maran said, because earnings for oil companies such as Bartlesville-based Phillips Petroleum Co. are expected to break new records in 2000.
"Most of them will be up 50 percent or more," he said. "Their outlook has never been better."
Maran, who rates Phillips stock a "buy," said he expects the company's stock price to reach $60 a share within 12 to 18 months. The stock closed Wednesday at $38.68.
Phillips has combined some of its secondary business units with those of other companies to focus more on the production of oil and gas.
Still, in recent months, Phillips shares have fallen along with other oil stocks at a steady rate.
Since the beginning of the year, Phillips stock has dropped more than 14 percent. Other oil stocks, including Texaco Inc., Chevron Corp., BP Amoco and Conoco Inc., have declined between 8 percent and 19 percent.
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