It's always exciting to watch one (or more) of your stocks take off for the moon. This year has brought plenty of rocket launches, some which are reversing long losses and others that are just continuing upward. But nothing continues forever. A company without fundamental earnings growth can send its stock price tumbling like a rocket without enough fuel. I'll look at Kodiak Oil & Gas
Graphing the growth
By digging down beneath the news cycle that drives many stocks, we can find whether the hype is real, or if a rise is lifted higher by hot air alone. A company should be improving its profitability along with its revenue in order for investors to take it seriously.
Kodiak just made it into the energy industry's top performers list last year, but much of that growth came during the last few months of 2011. That barely scratches the surface of its stock rise post-recession, absolutely trouncing the market to a gain of over 3,000%. That wasn't the only thing heading higher, as revenue has been on a similar trajectory:
Chart by YCharts.
The stock price has galloped ahead in anticipation of greater production and larger proved reserves.
Chart by YCharts.
But what does it mean?
Evaluating a company with headwinds this strong can be difficult. Kodiak's trailing P/E of 50.6 looks inflated until forward expectations come into play. With a forward P/E of 9.3 and anticipated sales growth this upcoming quarter clocking in over 800% higher (full-year estimates peg Kodiak's 2012 revenue growing 425%), it's little wonder that most analysts still view the company as a good buy.
Other Bakken players are also expecting major growth, although few have either the specific estimates or the lofty expectations of Kodiak. Samson Oil & Gas
Foolish final thoughts
It's fairly unlikely that Kodiak is on an unsustainable trajectory, and there seems little give to triple-digit oil prices per barrel. A larger oil driller might even decide to buy the company outright for access to its plentiful Bakken acreage. So as long as Kodiak keeps finding oil and getting it out of the ground in ever-greater quantities, it should be a solid addition to any energy-focused portfolio.
Interested in more news and information on this company? Add Kodiak Oil & Gas to your Watchlist. To make sure your portfolio gets the most out of $100 oil, take a look at this free report that outlines three other great companies hand-picked by our analysts. There are plenty of opportunities to profit, so don't wait for the price to go up any more -- get your free copy now.
