A Big Frack Attack

Submitted by admin on Sat, 01/14/2012 - 12:05

Well, this WSJ article doesn't have to do with a craving for burgers but it does have to do with an appetitie for risk, aka "How to Play the Next American Oil Boom":

 

Energy profits are booming and Big Oil shares look inexpensive. But investors with an appetite for risk might want to drill deeper into the sector to find smaller companies sitting on U.S. oil-shale riches—which make tempting takeover targets, analysts say.
 
Large oil companies are riding a 25% fourth-quarter surge in Nymex crude prices. Analysts estimate that energy companies in the Standard & Poor's 500-stock index saw earnings growth of 34% in the fourth quarter—more than twice that of any other sector, according to S&P.
 
The market has bid up these shares only cautiously—worried, no doubt, that oil prices could dip if world economic growth slows. S&P 500 energy companies trade at 10 times projected 2012 earnings, versus 12 times for the broader index.
 
Investors underestimate the strength of current oil demand, says Subash Chandra, who covers energy stocks for Jefferies, a New York investment bank...