Oil prices gained for a fourth day after U.S. crude supplies dropped the most in a decade. Bloomberg reports that Energy Department data showed stockpiles fell 10.6 million barrels, the largest decrease since February 2001.
As a result, futures rose as much as 0.7% after gaining 1.5% on Wednesday. "New York oil will average a record $100 a barrel next year as the U.S. averts recession, while London-traded Brent will decline from the 2011 mean, according to a Bloomberg News survey of analysts."
Thursday's crude prices for February climbed $0.72 to $99.39 per barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. This is up from Wednesday, when contracts increased by $1.43 to $98.67 per barrel.
Overall, crude prices have risen 8.5% this year after climbing 15% in 2010. Prices are up 25% this quarter alone, the biggest gain since the second quarter of 2009.
Investing ideas
So we were wondering, which oil companies have been boosted by bullish sentiment?
To create this list, we started with a universe of about 150 high growth oil companies. To refine the list, we collected data on institutional transactions, and identified the names that have seen significant inflows during the current quarter.
And to further refine the list, we collected data on short-seller trends, and identified the names that have seen a significant decrease in shares shorted during the current month (i.e., short-sellers think the upside of these stocks outweighs the downside)
Sophisticated investors, like hedge fund managers and short-sellers, think these names are going higher -- do you agree?
List sorted by projected earnings growth. (Click here to access free, interactive tools to analyze these ideas.)
1. Gulfport Energy
2. Approach Resources
3. Rex Energy
4. GeoResources
5. Hornbeck Offshore Services
Interactive Chart: Press Play to compare changes in analyst ratings over the last two years for the stocks mentioned above. Analyst ratings sourced from Zacks Investment Research.
List compiled by Eben Esterhuizen, CFA. Kapitall's Eben Esterhuizen and Rebecca Lipman do not own any of the shares mentioned above. Institutional data sourced from Fidelity, Short data sourced from Yahoo! Finance.