This came in on the 19th and if it has already been posted, my apologies.
DH is full of it. MHO He is a typical shorter spreading negative hype. This thread is for factual happenings not the opinions of a stock Guru. I believe I'll start calling him Swaimi Ben Fearmonger, knows all, tells all, free of charge.
By Laura Saunders Egodigwe and Danielle Sessa
THE WALL STREET JOURNAL
"Top executives and directors at companies in the oil and natural-gas industry have been pumping money into their shares, which have been hurt by weak oil prices. The buying spans companies that explore for and produce oil, as well as those that provide oil-field services and equipment.
INDUSTRY INSIDERS bought $2.7 million of stock in June, the latest month for which figures are available, according to Federal Filings Business News.
"This round of buying marks the first time since last year's collapse in the oil markets that industry insiders have stepped up in any meaningful way," says Craig Columbus, vice president of research at Bethesda, Md.-based Disclosure Inc., which tracks insider transactions for institutional investors.
Some of the larger purchases came at Ensco International Inc., the Dallas offshore contract driller; Schlumberger Ltd., the oil-field-services company based in New York; Input/Output Inc., a maker of seismic equipment; and at Apache Corp. and Enron Oil & Gas Co., both of Houston.
There was a smaller purchase at Pennzoil Co., Houston, where President Stephen Chesebro bought 2,500 shares at $45.94 each on July 30, and Chairman James Pate added 2,600 shares at prices from $45.88 to $47 a share between July 27 and July 30.
At Ensco, three insiders purchased 47,000 shares between July 7 and July 13 at prices ranging from $15.78 to $16.13 apiece, well off the high of $47 reached last November. Meanwhile, two Schlumberger directors bought 2,000 shares between July 27 and July 31 at prices between $61.75 and $61.94 a share, in the first buying by insiders since January. The company is currently reducing its work force in response to the weak oil market.
From July 16 to July 24, two insiders at Input/Output, Stafford, Texas, bought 12,000 shares at prices ranging from $15.66 to $18.63 a share. From July 21 to July 28, four Apache insiders bought 23,100 shares at prices between $24.88 and $27.75 a share. Among them, Apache Chairman Raymond Plank added 2,000 shares to his holdings. Also last month, Enron Oil & Gas Chairman Forrest E. Hoglund bought 65,599 of the exploration and production company's shares at prices from $16.06 to $18.25 a share between July 14 and July 30. Enron Oil President Mark G. Papa bought 2,000 shares on July 17 at $17.94 apiece.
Enron Oil's Mr. Hoglund cites the bearishness pervading the industry for his decision to buy. "The market for oil and gas stocks has been so bad, and they've driven all the stocks down to such low levels, I figured it was just too good an opportunity to pass up," he said.
Indeed, stock prices in the oil-and-gas exploration and production sector are down nearly 40% from a peak reached in January of last year. During the same period, Enron Oil shares are down nearly 45%, while Apache shares are off 35%. Both currently trade near 52-week lows.
Apache Corporation (APA)
price change
$27.06 +1.250
Enron Corp. (ENE)
price change
$49.06 +1.625
Pennzoil Company (PZL)
price change
$43.25 +1.063
Data: Microsoft Investor and S&P Comstock 20 min.delay
But the buying could mean good news may soon trickle in for the oil industry. "Historically, oil-drilling and oil-service insiders have been a very reliable barometer of oil prices over the next six to nine months," said Disclosure's Mr. Columbus. "The heavy insider selling in the fall of 1997 was a classic example." Oil prices dropped sharply afterward.
Of course, Mr. Columbus warns, the fundamentals still don't look good for many of these stocks. However, he adds, "these insiders know that if takeover activity picks up in the industry or we have a cold winter, they are getting these shares at fire-sale prices."
Clayton Van Levy, an analyst at Jefferies & Co., sees the insider buying at Enron Oil as a positive sign, but he warns that it doesn't necessarily signal the start of an upswing for the stock. Insiders face restrictions that limit when they can buy or sell stock, so "it doesn't mean these prices can't go lower," he said."
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