Energy

SunTrust Has Contrarian Energy Calls for a Nervous and Expensive Market

Lee Jackson

Published: June 13, 2019 6:40 am

Last Updated: January 30, 2020 7:42 pm

When you combine a fully valued stock market, with an inverted yield curve, and then toss in a big serving of trade issues, topped off by slowing market volume as the summer is all but upon us, you may have a recipe for disaster. The one tailwind the equity market does have is the fact that the yields on government and corporate debt are very low, so bank certificates of deposits are hardly exciting for older investors looking for income.

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For a seventh time, the analysts at SunTrust are out with a report they have titled “Where are you different.” The analysts have looked at contrarian ideas that are not widely liked across Wall Street. The report said this when discussing the methodology:

In our seventh edition of this report, we again polled our equity research team to identify stocks where we are truly different. Our 35 publishing analysts identified the most “out of consensus” calls based on ratings, estimates, models and/or theses. We hope that this research piece will initiate conversations with our experienced group of analysts (who on average have 15+ years of industry/sellside/buyside experience and collectively cover 660 + stocks) to help our institutional clients make better investment decisions.

We thought we could cover the energy stocks, as the sector has been way out of favor, and the benchmark price of both Brent and West Texas Intermediate crude have been hammered over the past six weeks, and they really got hit Wednesday. These stocks are all rated Buy at SunTrust.

Marathon Oil

This is a leading integrated oil and gas company with extensive upstream operations. Marathon Oil Corp. (NYSE: MRO) operates through three segments. The North America Exploration and Production segment develops, explores for, produces and markets crude oil and condensate, natural gas liquids (NGLs) and natural gas in North America.

The International Exploration and Production segment explores for, produces and markets crude oil and condensate, NGLs and natural gas in Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, the Kurdistan Region of Iraq, Libya and the United Kingdom, as well as produces and markets products manufactured from natural gas, such as liquefied natural gas and methanol in Equatorial Guinea.

The Oil Sands Mining segment mines, extracts and transports bitumen from oil sands deposits in Alberta and Canada, and it upgrades the bitumen to produce and market synthetic crude oil and vacuum gas oil.

Marathon investors receive a 1.49% dividend. The SunTrust price target for the stock is $25, while the consensus price objective across Wall Street is $22.02. The stock closed Wednesday’s trading at $13.02.

PDC Energy

This smaller cap name is somewhat off the radar, but it has tantalizing assets for an acquiring company looking to add growth potential. PDC Energy Inc. (NYSE: PDCE) is a diversified exploration and production outfit with assets in the Rockies and the Permian and Utica shales. The company’s core position is in the Wattenberg, with 100,000 net acres, alongside a recently acquired 55,000 net acre position in the Permian Basin.

The company is targeting 10% to 15% production growth in 2020, and operating progress continues with operating expense improving and well cost declining in the Delaware with longer laterals and modified completion design.

SunTrust has a whopping $57 price target that is very close to the consensus target of $57.42. Shares ended trading at $32.04 on Wednesday.

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PPL

This is actually a utility stock that delivers big dividends. PPL Corp. (NYSE: PPL) serves 321,000 natural gas and 397,000 electric customers in Louisville and 16 surrounding counties, and 543,000 customers in 77 Kentucky counties and five counties in Virginia. The company also provides electric delivery services to approximately 1.4 million customers in Pennsylvania and operates electricity distribution network for the Midlands, South West, and Wales in the United Kingdom.

In addition, the company offers a range of customer care and back-office services to competitive retail energy suppliers, including customer enrollments; contract management; electronic data exchange; simple and complex billing; and call center operations comprising telemarketing, payment processing and collections of overdue accounts.

PPL investors receive a generous 5.39% dividend. The $36 SunTrust price target is higher than the $32.17 consensus target. The stock closed trading Wednesday at $31.16 per share.

Ring Energy

The analysts at SunTrust have been positive on this a solid small-cap play for some time. Ring Energy Inc. (NYSE: REI) is engaged in oil and natural gas acquisition, exploration, development and production activities. Its exploration and production interests are focused on Texas and Kansas.

The company’s operations are all oil and gas exploration and production related activities in the United States. Its primary drilling operations target the Central Basin Platform in Andrews and Gaines counties and the Delaware Basin in Reeves and Culberson counties, all in Texas.

Ring Energy primarily sells its oil and natural gas production to end users, marketers and other purchasers. The company’s long-term business strategy is focused on the exploration, development and acquisition of oil and natural gas properties in the Permian and Mid-Continent regions of the United States.

SunTrust has set its price target at $12. The posted consensus figure was last seen at $9.14, and the stock closed Wednesday at $3.34 a share.

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Targa Resources

This top energy master limited partnership has had a string of positives lately and makes sense for income investors. Targa Resources Corp (NYSE: TRGP) is a leading provider of midstream services and is one of the largest independent midstream energy companies in North America. Targa owns, operates, acquires and develops a diversified portfolio of complementary midstream energy assets.

The company is primarily engaged in the business of gathering, compressing, treating, processing and selling natural gas; storing, fractionating, treating, transporting and selling NGLs and related products, including services to liquefied petroleum gas exporters; gathering, storing and terminaling crude oil; storing, terminaling and selling refined petroleum products.

Targa Resources has one of the premier asset positions in the Permian basin. With solid management, a strong balance sheet and attractive exposure to some of the most attractive U.S. energy basins, it remains a top pick across Wall Street.

Investors receive a huge 9.46% distribution. The SunTrust price objective is $48. The consensus target is higher at $49.81, and the shares closed most recently at $36.97.

These are five very different contrarian picks in what many would consider a very contrarian sector. It is entirely possible, since oil pricing has slipped dramatically, that the OPEC members will continue to keep the current production cuts in place. In addition, the busy summer driving and travel season is right around the corner, and that could help generate increased demand as well.