The markets have seemingly exited their holding pattern since the Brexit recovery, and volatility has returned. With this, crude oil has made a handy recovery from its lows this year, but it suffered over the course of this past week, with WTI dropping from $47 per barrel to as low as $43. This is now a risk-on price again for the larger players in the oil industry. It’s still a concern that many oil companies cannot operate with much profitability.

The week of September 12 brought a fair number analyst upgrades and downgrades in oil and gas stocks. Some analysts believe many of the energy stocks continue to be very smart buys, based on values or catalysts.

Enterprise Products Partners L.P. (NYSE: EPD) was started as Buy at Evercore ISI Group on September 16. Shares closed at $26.01 on Friday. The stock has a 52-week trading range of $19.00 to $30.11 and a consensus analyst price target of $32.65.

Apache Corp. (NYSE: APA) was upgraded at Atlantic Equities to an Overweight rating from Neutral with a $70 price target. Shares closed Friday at $58.56, with a consensus price target of $58.19 and a 52-week range of $32.20 to $60.19.

ConocoPhillips (NYSE: COP) was upgraded by JPMorgan to Overweight from Neutral with a $51 price target on September 12. Shares closed at $39.87. The consensus price target is $52.27, and the 52-week range is $31.05 to $57.24.

Chevron Corp. (NYSE: CVX) was started at an Outperform rating with a $120 price target at BMO Capital Markets on September 13. The stock closed Friday at $97.84, with a consensus price target of $111.33 and a 52-week range of $75.10 to $107.58.

Hess Corp. (NYSE: HES) was started with an Accumulate rating and assigned a $65 price target (versus a $49.92 prior close) at KLR Group on September 12. Shares closed out the week at $46.48, with a consensus price target of $65.04 and a 52-week range of $32.41 to $64.08.

ENSCO PLC (NYSE: ESV) was started as Outperform with a $10 price target (versus a $6.89 close, after a 6.5% drop and hitting a new 52-week low) at Scotia Howard Weil. The 52-week range is $6.67 to $18.93. The consensus price target is $9.17. Shares closed Friday at $6.87.

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Keep in mind there is a huge move going on in the sector with Enbridge merging with Spectra. This merger is being taken rather well by investors and analysts alike. The size and scope, and the reasons for liking the deal, are in some cases different reactions than investors are used to seeing in other mergers.

Also check out last week’s top five oil and gas upgrades.

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