Taylor Muckerman

13-F filings offer a glimpse in to the activities of U.S. hedge funds. Which energy stock have they been buying?

Surging natural gas usage has curtailed domestic coal usage, so what should investors focus on that could lead to Peabody's success?

High natural gas prices in Europe are prompting the country to look towards importing it from the United States.

Income investors have been seeking out high yielding stocks during the Federal Reserve's "zero interest rate policy" regime. Unfortunately, not all high yields are sustainable.

Drilling activity has climbed back to levels not seen since the BP disaster. Prospects continue to brighten -- but for whom?

Several producing regions are becoming more viable for coal producers. Who's the top dog?

Service companies in the oil and natural gas industry are ripe for investment returns. Exploration companies are increasingly pressured to spend in order to test harder to reach, riskier geographies. That means big profits for the blue-collar equipment and service companies. Where should you focus your investing attention?

The price for natural gas is approaching the $4 per million BTU range, a place it hasn't been since 2011.

Energy and materials companies live in a very capital-intensive environment. Survival means increasing cash from operations, diluting equity, or issuing more debt. These companies have really levered up recently. Are they all in a bad position?

After accumulating a large asset base in 2010, this company has been trading down since April of that year. As a leading producer in several key oil and natural gas areas, will its shares rebound?

Pressure in the North American land market continues to force the issue for oil and natural gas services companies to expand abroad. What has one of the top three been doing lately?

Looking for a boost to economic activity in the United States? Look no further than the energy sector. Thanks to hydraulic fracturing, oil and natural gas companies could add significant growth to the economy.

Even if the Keystone XL pipeline is approved by President Obama, Canadian oil producers will still be looking for access to the West Coast for exporting to Asia. Which companies are there to help and benefit?

General Motors is no stranger to government funding. Recently, its CEO said that the government should contribute to the build out of the compressed and liquified natural gas fueling stations in order for cars running on natural gas to have more consumer appeal.

While Peabody Energy is the market leader in the U.S. coal market, there are definitely reasons why investors might shy away from investing in it.

You would be hard pressed to find an area of the globe that doesn't have an ExxonMobil flag planted on it. Looking at the map, the company's footprint looks set to grow even further in the coming years.

It is becoming more and more expensive for the biggest oil and natural gas companies in the world, like ExxonMobil, to continue growing their reserves. How much money per year are we talking here? It's in the hundreds of billions of dollars.

Infrastructure, or lack thereof, has significantly restrained the Utica shale in the United States. Who's experiencing the best production so far?

In his most recent budget plan, energy in general, and our independence from foreign sources in particular, were key themes.

Growth at both of these companies has turned them into my top two holdings. While I like each company for different reasons, I still believe both have bright futures.