"We think the company is undervalued but there are more sellers than buyers out there"
U.S. teacher fund sells Talisman shares
Calgary Herald, December 10
Charles Frank, Calgary Herald, with files from Canadian Press
Talisman Energy Inc. continues to be buffeted by fallout from the company's
controversial activities in the Sudan.
Officials with TIAA-CREF, a New York-based college teachers' fund,
confirmed Thursday it has reduced holdings in the Calgary-based energy
giant. Last June, it held more than 260,000 Talisman shares.
"We consider ourselves a long-term investor," said Claire Sheehan, a
spokeswoman for the fund. "But in this case we decided the time was right
to sell our shares and move on."
Last month, the Texas Teachers Retirement Fund sold its 100,000-share
stake in Talisman while Manning and Napier, a U.S. investment house,
recently sold 1.2 million shares.
"These funds are definitely susceptible to public opinion," agreed energy
analyst Wilf Gobert of Peters and Co. "And that can cause a stock to be
sold off. I don't get the sense that these people are selling Talisman to lock
in profits."
Talisman shares closed at $35.85 Thursday on the Toronto Stock
Exchange. In early September, the company hit a 52-week high of $49.15.
"We think the company is undervalued but there are more sellers than
buyers out there and that has caused the price to back off,' said Gobert.
However, Gobert also noted that the entire oil and gas sector has fallen into
disfavour in recent weeks -- even though the price of oil continues to hold
firm in the $26 US a barrel range and natural gas prices are on average "the
best they've been in the last 15 years."
"A lot of investors are just looking somewhere else right now," said Gobert.
However, Talisman has been under intense public pressure - particularly in
the United States - from human rights and anti-slavery groups who are
incensed at reports that civilians have been displaced, enslaved or even
killed to clear the way for the company's oil operations in the Sudan's
Greater Nile Region.
Three weeks ago, a United Nations report indicated the Sudanese
government had used scorched earth policies to clear a 100-kilometre zone
around the oilfields.
Talisman officials were unavailable for comment Thursday.
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