We’ve run a screen for high-yielding stocks in the various industries in the sector and then checked to see how far the stock is trading below its 52-week high. From these results we’ll highlight six stocks: Total SA (NYSE: TOT), Whiting USA Trust  (NYSE: WHX), Penn West Petroleum Ltd. (NYSE: PWE), Global Partners LP (NYSE: GLP), Ferrellgas Partners LP (NYSE: FGP), and Exterran Partners, L.P. (NASDAQ: EXLP). All except Total and Penn West are REITs or limited partnerships, which typically produce larger payouts because the companies themselves pay no taxes. That’s up to the limited partners.

Total is one of the half-dozen largest integrated oil companies in the world. Based in France, the firm’s market cap is around $127 billion. It’s P/E ratio for the trailing twelve months is 7.24 and its price/book ratio is a low 1.37. The company pays a dividend of $2.73, for a forward yield of 4.9%. No other major integrated oil firm is even close. Shares are trading about -14% below 52-week highs.

Whiting USA Trust I is a REIT that operates as a subsidiary of Whiting Petroleum Corp. (NYSE: WLL), and owns interests in WLL’s operations in the Midwest, the Rocky Mountains, and Texas. The trust is categorized as a drilling company with a market cap of $229 million. It’s trailing P/E is 6.21 and its price/book ratio is 4.0. The current dividend is $2.91, for a forward yield 16.70%. This is the highest yield rate among oil & gas companies traded on a major exchange. The trust’s shares are currently trading about -32% below their 52-week high.

Penn West is Canadian-based E&P company with a market cap of more than $10 billion. It operates primarily in western Canada. The company’s trailing P/E is 22.88, but its forward P/E drops to 13.02 and its price/book ratio is a very low 1.09. The company pays a dividend of $1.10 and its forward yield is nice 4.8%. Shares are trading about -23% below the 52-week high.

Global Partners is a midstream company that supplies unbranded gasoline and other petroleum products to wholesale and commercial distributors. The company’s market cap is about $467 million and its trailing P/E is 22.73. The price/book ratio is 1.35 and the company currently pays a dividend of $2.00 with a forward yield of 8.10%. Shares are currently trading nearly -28% below 52-week highs.

Ferrellgas is one of the US’s largest propane distributors and is categorized as a refining & market company. The company’s market cap is around $1.5 billion and its trailing P/E is not meaningful because the company has posted losses for the past several quarters. It’s forward P/E is a robust 24.57, and its price/book ratio is 6.63. As strange as it may seem, the company pays a dividend of $2 and its forward yield is 9%. Ferrellgas is trading about -31% below its 52-week high.

Exterran Partners is a field services company that operates only in the United States. The company’s market cap is about $752 million and, like Ferrellgas, it has no trailing P/E. It’s forward P/E is 39.0 and its price/book ratio is 2.22. Exterran pays a dividend of $1.90 and its forward yield is 7.5%. The company’s shares are trading about -25% below 52-week highs.

Paul Ausick

The two entities will form a joint venture to which Penn West will contribute assets worth about CDN$1.8 billion in exchange for a 55% stake, and CIC will contribute $CDN817 million for the remaining 45% stake. CIC will also buy 23.5 million of Penn West common units for about CDN$435 million. Penn West will operate the Peace River project through a wholly owned subsidiary.

This deal is just the latest in a string going back five years in which Chinese firms have purchased projects in the Canadian oil sands. In the first deal, in April 2005, Petrochina Company Ltd. (NYSE:PTR) agreed to buy into a pipeline proposed by Enbridge Inc. (NYSE:ENB) to transport oil from Alberta to the west coast of Canada. PetroChina later pulled because of regulatory delays.

In the same month, Cnooc Ltd. (NYSE:CEO) paid CDN$122 million for a one-sixth share in privately held MEG Energy. A year ago Sinopec, officially China Petroleum & Chemical Corp. (NYSE:SNP), upped its stake in the Northern Lights project owned by Total SA (NYSE:TOT). That CDN$10.7 project has since been put on hold.

In August 2009, PetroChina agreed to buy 60% of two undeveloped projects for CDN$1.9 billion. Last month, the biggest deal so far was announced when Sinopec agreed to buy the 9.03% stake in the Syncrude joint venture owned by ConocoPhillips Corp. (NYSE:COP) for $4.65 billion.

What makes today’s oil sands deal different is that the investment is coming from a sovereign wealth fund, not an oil company. CIC has also invested in energy projects in Russia, Kazakhstan, and Indonesia.

Canada is not the only recipient of Chinese investment largesse. Iraq, Nigeria, Angola, Sudan, and more than two dozen other countries have received investments either from Chinese oil companies, banks, or sovereign wealth funds.

Chinese investment in most of these projects is followed by additional later investment in the capital expenditures needed to develop the projects. That’s certainly true in the case of Penn West, which plans to use the funds to “strategically advance the development of its significant ownership of light-oil resources.”

Penn West has held its Peace River acreage for some time, but has been unable to fund development on its own. The company did not even have a schedule in place for developing its oil sands assets.

China’s reported investment today in Nigeria follows the same pattern. Nigeria cannot afford to build refineries to produce enough refined products for its population. A group of Chinese banks today have preliminarily agreed to build three refineries in the country at a cost of about $23 billion. Because the gasoline would be for domestic Nigerian consumption, China itself gains only whatever profit it makes from the refineries over a long time.

However, China does gain a nice boost in goodwill from a country that owns vast, high-quality reserves of oil. The low-margin refining business has not attracted any investment, until today. When Nigeria next offers leases on offshore fields, China can expect more serious consideration, perhaps, than it might otherwise get.

All in all, having China spend its dollars and foreign exchange credits on developing oil reserves is a better use of the funds than more investment in the bubbly Shanghai and Beijing real estate markets. Every barrel that China develops helps offset its large and fast-growing demand for crude.

Paul Ausick

Penn West’s long-term debt has about doubled since the third quarter of2007, from $1.824 billion to $3.679 billion. The company also noted,"Our risk management policies have served to minimize our credit lossesfrom troubled counterparties." Again, no specifics.

Realized prices per barrel of oil equivalent totaled $43.33/boe, anincrease of nearly 33% over the same period a year ago. In a letter tounitholders, the company projected that production would be "slightlybelow" previous guidance of 195,000/boe/day.

Penn West will face challenges due to lower realized prices for oil andnatural gas going forward. It’s debt level is also problematic. Thecompany announced in August that it would sell some of its "non-core"properties. That will help offset some of the debt, but probably not byenough.

Paul Ausick
November 12, 2008

Cramer noted that it is time to look for oil stocks that pulled back, and he noted Gardner Denver Inc. (NYSE:GDI) that makes nuts and bolts, and compressor and vacuum systems.  It is not entirely levered to oil, but he thinks that at 11-times next year’s earnings it is too low and could trade at 13-times to 14-times next year’s earnings.  It even has large international exposure that can be helped by a weak dollar.

Cramer also said that oil down under $80.00 per barrel is a gift, and he is looking at another undervalued play to peers.  But he is looking at the Canadian Energy Trusts again since the oil fields underneath the trusts could be acquired.  Here are his picks, and the premium being paid for Prime West is major:

• Baytex (BTE)…has the least downside and 47% upside
• Canetic (CNE)
• Pengrowth (PGH)
• Provident Energy Trust (PVX)
• Penn West Energy Trust (PWE) is less of a target and may be a buyer
• Advantage (AAV)

Our subscribers have read some issues in the past regarding this, andwithout going too far into any potential mergers in Canadian Oil Trustsit is mandatory to know that the geography in these and the fact thatoil has to remain Very High for these to be viable.

Other major Cramer stories:

• TOP PICKS FOR 2007;
• "Mortgage Madness" Portfolio;
• His Top China Picks, with caution;
• Warren Buffett reviews: Group1 and Group 2.

Jon C. Ogg
September 26, 2007

Jon Ogg produces the 24/7 Wall St., LLC Special Situation Investing Newsletter; he does not own securities in the companies he covers.