Shares of oilfield services provider Halliburton Co. increased Monday as crude prices rose and an industry analyst upgraded the company even as he forecast a depressed oil and gas market for at least the next couple of years.
Shares of Halliburton, which has corporate headquarters in Houston and Dubai, rose 61 cents, or 4 percent, to close at $15.72 Monday. The stock peaked at $55.38 last summer at the height of crude prices but lost much of its value in the market meltdown last fall, bottoming at $12.80 in November as the recession slashed demand for oil, hurting prices.
Across the sector Monday, oil and gas companies saw shares rise as crude oil reached new highs for the year on expectations for additional OPEC production cuts. Light, sweet crude for April delivery rose $1.53, or 3.4 percent, to $47.03 a barrel in afternoon trading. Earlier in the day prices reached $48.83. They are still well off their highs near $150 a barrel in July 2008.
In a note to clients Monday, Friedman Billings Ramsey analyst Robert MacKenzie said the international oil market and domestic gas market both are likely to see extended downturns, with the international crude market depressed until 2012.
That doesn't bode well for companies like Halliburton, which assists oil and gas producers with drilling, reservoir management and other services.
Still, MacKenzie upgraded Halliburton shares to "Outperform" from "Market Perform," noting that investors likely already have priced a portion of the weak outlook into Halliburton's share price.
"We see limited downside in sentiment for HAL from further North American capex cuts and expect investors to remain in HAL," MacKenzie said in his note.
Friedman Billings Ramsey also upgraded shares of offshore drilling contractor Transocean Ltd. to "Outperform," saying the company should ride out the downturn better than some competitors. Transocean shares fell $1.38, or 2.7 percent, to close at $49.73. They are now worth less than a third of the $163 at which they traded last May.
via yahoo
Shares of Halliburton, which has corporate headquarters in Houston and Dubai, rose 61 cents, or 4 percent, to close at $15.72 Monday. The stock peaked at $55.38 last summer at the height of crude prices but lost much of its value in the market meltdown last fall, bottoming at $12.80 in November as the recession slashed demand for oil, hurting prices.
Across the sector Monday, oil and gas companies saw shares rise as crude oil reached new highs for the year on expectations for additional OPEC production cuts. Light, sweet crude for April delivery rose $1.53, or 3.4 percent, to $47.03 a barrel in afternoon trading. Earlier in the day prices reached $48.83. They are still well off their highs near $150 a barrel in July 2008.
In a note to clients Monday, Friedman Billings Ramsey analyst Robert MacKenzie said the international oil market and domestic gas market both are likely to see extended downturns, with the international crude market depressed until 2012.
That doesn't bode well for companies like Halliburton, which assists oil and gas producers with drilling, reservoir management and other services.
Still, MacKenzie upgraded Halliburton shares to "Outperform" from "Market Perform," noting that investors likely already have priced a portion of the weak outlook into Halliburton's share price.
"We see limited downside in sentiment for HAL from further North American capex cuts and expect investors to remain in HAL," MacKenzie said in his note.
Friedman Billings Ramsey also upgraded shares of offshore drilling contractor Transocean Ltd. to "Outperform," saying the company should ride out the downturn better than some competitors. Transocean shares fell $1.38, or 2.7 percent, to close at $49.73. They are now worth less than a third of the $163 at which they traded last May.
via yahoo
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