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Apache Among Oil and Gas Operations' Biggest Movers on September 7, 2012
After the morning's trading, the Nasdaq is trading down 0.2%, the S&P 500 has risen 0.3% and the Dow has remained steady.
These are the biggest movers in the Oil and Gas Operations sector (DIG) (+3.1%):
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After an increase of 5.9%, PDC Energy (Nasdaq:PDCE) has reached a current price of $32.14. So far today, the company's volume is 191,599 shares, which is likely to result in less activity than yesterday's volume of 603,995 shares. Volume is used to evaluate how meaningful the price movement of a stock is. Valuation ratios allow the investor to make a quick determination as to a company's investment value. To a large degree, the debt-equity (D/E) ratio provides another vantage point on a company's leverage position, in this case, comparing total liabilities to shareholders' equity, as opposed to total assets in the debt ratio. PDCE's D/E ratio is 69%. The D/E ratio is not a pure measurement of a company's debt because it includes operational liabilities in total liabilities.
Clayton Williams Energy (Nasdaq:CWEI) is currently trading at $53.53 per share, a 4.8% increase. The company's volume for the day so far is 16,305 shares. Volume is also used as a secondary indicator to help confirm what the price movement is suggesting. Investment valuation ratios can be very useful in estimating whether a stock price is too high, reasonable or a bargain investment opportunity. A company's capitalization (not to be confused with its market capitalization) is the term used to describe the makeup of a company's permanent or long-term capital, which consists of both long-term debt and shareholders' equity. CWEI has a high capitalization ratio of 64.6%. The company may have trouble meeting operating and debt liabilities on time and surviving adverse economic conditions. This ratio is considered to be one of the more meaningful of the "debt" ratios - it delivers the key insight into the use of leverage by a company.
Berry Petroleum (NYSE:BRY) is up 4.7% to reach a current price of $38.58 per share. The company's volume for the day so far is 179,141 shares, 0.4 times its current three-month average. Price change alone is not enough to know how a stock is doing. Volume is an important secondary indicator used to confirm trends suggested by price movement. Investment valuation ratios provide investors with an estimation, albeit a simplistic one, of the value of a stock. The price/book value ratio provides a way of evaluating whether a stock is relatively cheap or expensive. BRY's stock is trading for more than its book value with a P/B ratio of 2.18. This implies that investors expect management to create more value from a given set of assets and/or that the market value of the firm's assets is significantly higher than their accounting value. All else being equal, a stock with a low P/B value ratio is more attractive than a stock with a high ratio. SEE: Investment Valuation Ratios: Price/Book Value Ratio
Continental Resources (NYSE:CLR) has risen 4.5% and is currently trading at $78.43 per share. This morning, the company's volume is 621,615 shares. This is 0.7 times its current daily average. If a stock price moves on high volume, this means that the change is a significant one. While investment valuation ratios are useful tools in estimating the attractiveness of an investment, remember that it is important to look at a company's historical performance and compare the company ratios with its competitors and industry overall. In a nutshell, the price/sales ratio shows how much Wall Street values every dollar of the company's sales. CLR has a high P/S ratio of 5.9. This could be a good sign if the share price increases. It is important to keep in mind when looking at the P/S ratio that just because a company is generating revenues, this does not mean that the company is profitable, and in the long run, profits drive stock prices.
Whiting (NYSE:WLL) is at $49.33 per share after an increase of 4.1%. So far today, 911,198 shares have changed hands, with trading activity in keeping with yesterday's. If a stock price moves on high volume, this means that the change is a significant one. Looking at a company's valuation ratios is a good way of getting a basic idea as to its value as an investment. The debt ratio is calculated by dividing total liabilities by total assets. WLL's debt ratio of 49.7% is on the low side. In other words, the company is less sensitive to changes in business or interest rates since less of its cash flow is dedicated to paying off loan expenses. However, one thing to note with this ratio: it isn't a pure measure of a company's debt (or indebtedness), as it also includes operational liabilities, such as accounts payable and taxes payable.
SM (NYSE:SM) has increased to a share price of $52.64, a 3.3% rise. This morning, the company is trading a volume of 260,420 shares. The trading volume for a stock indicates the level of investor interest. Investors can use valuation ratios as tools to estimate what kind of deal a particular investment is. The debt-equity (D/E) ratio is a measurement of how much suppliers, lenders, creditors and obligors have committed to the company versus what the shareholders have committed. SM has a D/E ratio of 76%. This easy-to-calculate ratio provides a general indication of a company's equity-liability relationship and is helpful to investors looking for a quick take on a company's leverage.
Apache (NYSE:APA) has moved up 2.8% and is currently trading at $89.01 per share. With 1.1 million shares changing hands so far today, the company's volume is consistent with its average over the last three months. If a stock is trading on low volume, then there is not much interest in the stock. On the other hand, if a stock is trading on high volume, then there is a lot of interest in the stock. A company's value as an investment is more easily estimated using valuation ratios such as the price to earnings (P/E) ratio, the price to earnings growth (PEG) ratio, the price to sales (P/S) ratio, the price to book (P/B) ratio, and the dividend yield. The capitalization ratio is calculated by dividing long-term debt by the sum of long-term debt and shareholders' equity. The capitalizion ratio of 24% is on the low end. Investors generally consider a company with low debt and high equity levels is a good quality investment. Prudent use of leverage (debt) increases the financial resources available to a company for growth and expansion.
The Bottom Line The nature of the market is such that stocks will have good days and bad days. Daily stock performance should be weighed against historical performance and put in context of the market overall. Keep in mind that all these ratios should be compared against historical numbers and industry information in order to get a more complete picture.
These are the biggest movers in the Oil and Gas Operations sector (DIG) (+3.1%):
| Company | Market Cap | Percentage Change |
| PDC Energy (Nasdaq:PDCE) | $918.6 million | +5.9% |
| Clayton Williams Energy (Nasdaq:CWEI) | $621.1 million | +4.8% |
| Berry Petroleum (NYSE:BRY) | $2 billion | +4.7% |
| Continental Resources (NYSE:CLR) | $13.59 billion | +4.5% |
| Whiting (NYSE:WLL) | $5.57 billion | +4.1% |
| SM (NYSE:SM) | $3.32 billion | +3.3% |
| Apache (NYSE:APA) | $33.86 billion | +2.8% |
After an increase of 5.9%, PDC Energy (Nasdaq:PDCE) has reached a current price of $32.14. So far today, the company's volume is 191,599 shares, which is likely to result in less activity than yesterday's volume of 603,995 shares. Volume is used to evaluate how meaningful the price movement of a stock is. Valuation ratios allow the investor to make a quick determination as to a company's investment value. To a large degree, the debt-equity (D/E) ratio provides another vantage point on a company's leverage position, in this case, comparing total liabilities to shareholders' equity, as opposed to total assets in the debt ratio. PDCE's D/E ratio is 69%. The D/E ratio is not a pure measurement of a company's debt because it includes operational liabilities in total liabilities.
Clayton Williams Energy (Nasdaq:CWEI) is currently trading at $53.53 per share, a 4.8% increase. The company's volume for the day so far is 16,305 shares. Volume is also used as a secondary indicator to help confirm what the price movement is suggesting. Investment valuation ratios can be very useful in estimating whether a stock price is too high, reasonable or a bargain investment opportunity. A company's capitalization (not to be confused with its market capitalization) is the term used to describe the makeup of a company's permanent or long-term capital, which consists of both long-term debt and shareholders' equity. CWEI has a high capitalization ratio of 64.6%. The company may have trouble meeting operating and debt liabilities on time and surviving adverse economic conditions. This ratio is considered to be one of the more meaningful of the "debt" ratios - it delivers the key insight into the use of leverage by a company.
Berry Petroleum (NYSE:BRY) is up 4.7% to reach a current price of $38.58 per share. The company's volume for the day so far is 179,141 shares, 0.4 times its current three-month average. Price change alone is not enough to know how a stock is doing. Volume is an important secondary indicator used to confirm trends suggested by price movement. Investment valuation ratios provide investors with an estimation, albeit a simplistic one, of the value of a stock. The price/book value ratio provides a way of evaluating whether a stock is relatively cheap or expensive. BRY's stock is trading for more than its book value with a P/B ratio of 2.18. This implies that investors expect management to create more value from a given set of assets and/or that the market value of the firm's assets is significantly higher than their accounting value. All else being equal, a stock with a low P/B value ratio is more attractive than a stock with a high ratio. SEE: Investment Valuation Ratios: Price/Book Value Ratio
Whiting (NYSE:WLL) is at $49.33 per share after an increase of 4.1%. So far today, 911,198 shares have changed hands, with trading activity in keeping with yesterday's. If a stock price moves on high volume, this means that the change is a significant one. Looking at a company's valuation ratios is a good way of getting a basic idea as to its value as an investment. The debt ratio is calculated by dividing total liabilities by total assets. WLL's debt ratio of 49.7% is on the low side. In other words, the company is less sensitive to changes in business or interest rates since less of its cash flow is dedicated to paying off loan expenses. However, one thing to note with this ratio: it isn't a pure measure of a company's debt (or indebtedness), as it also includes operational liabilities, such as accounts payable and taxes payable.
SM (NYSE:SM) has increased to a share price of $52.64, a 3.3% rise. This morning, the company is trading a volume of 260,420 shares. The trading volume for a stock indicates the level of investor interest. Investors can use valuation ratios as tools to estimate what kind of deal a particular investment is. The debt-equity (D/E) ratio is a measurement of how much suppliers, lenders, creditors and obligors have committed to the company versus what the shareholders have committed. SM has a D/E ratio of 76%. This easy-to-calculate ratio provides a general indication of a company's equity-liability relationship and is helpful to investors looking for a quick take on a company's leverage.
Apache (NYSE:APA) has moved up 2.8% and is currently trading at $89.01 per share. With 1.1 million shares changing hands so far today, the company's volume is consistent with its average over the last three months. If a stock is trading on low volume, then there is not much interest in the stock. On the other hand, if a stock is trading on high volume, then there is a lot of interest in the stock. A company's value as an investment is more easily estimated using valuation ratios such as the price to earnings (P/E) ratio, the price to earnings growth (PEG) ratio, the price to sales (P/S) ratio, the price to book (P/B) ratio, and the dividend yield. The capitalization ratio is calculated by dividing long-term debt by the sum of long-term debt and shareholders' equity. The capitalizion ratio of 24% is on the low end. Investors generally consider a company with low debt and high equity levels is a good quality investment. Prudent use of leverage (debt) increases the financial resources available to a company for growth and expansion.
The Bottom Line The nature of the market is such that stocks will have good days and bad days. Daily stock performance should be weighed against historical performance and put in context of the market overall. Keep in mind that all these ratios should be compared against historical numbers and industry information in order to get a more complete picture.
by
Investopedia Staff
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