20 Biggest Oil and Gas Stocks Aren’t So Hot

by Louis Navellier | March 22, 2010 8:45 am

I’m sure you’ve noticed that gasoline prices continue to climb across the country. From Exxon (XOM[1]) to Sunoco (SUN[2]) to BP (BP[3]), prices are edging up once more — about 80 cents higher than at this point in 2009. And after the shock of $4 a gallon gas in the peak driving months of 2008, you may be part of the growing American population that is cutting back spending in anticipation of higher costs at the pump.

But experts say prices will stabilize soon and could possibly stay below the $3 a gallon benchmark all spring and into the summer. That’s because the movement up in gasoline prices doesn’t really correlate to a spike in crude oil demand like it did in 2008. The upwards movement for crude is due largely to a weaker dollar (comparatively) that has boosted commodity prices.

The bottom line is that supply is strong and demand is weak. And that means that while oil companies may be commanding a decent price for crude, they are not selling nearly enough to make the big profits they did before the recession.

As a result, my latest fundamental analysis of the 20 largest oil & gas companies on Wall Street shows only one worth buying: Columbia-based Ecopetrol (EC[4]), which has seen strong demand due to its Latin American operations, gets a B or “Buy” recommendation in my Portfolio Grader database. The big players like Chevron (CVX[5]) and Europe’s Total (TOT[6]) get my worst grade: F or “Strong Sell.”

Portfolio Grader, my FREE stock ranking tool[7], offers updated recommendations each week on about 5,000 publicly traded stocks. Click on any company’s ticker below to get my free fundamental analysis of each stock:

Tell us what you think here.[28]

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