Energy

Goldman Sachs Has 5 Top Energy Stocks to Buy With Huge Implied Upside

Lee Jackson

Published: March 29, 2019 7:40 am

Last Updated: January 30, 2020 10:42 pm

Every time oil gets up around the $60 a barrel level, President Trump talks it back down some with a tweet. While that can be disconcerting for energy investors, the reality is oil has had a big run off the mid-$40s lows back in the winter. The good news is most on Wall Street are modeling $50 to $55 levels for West Texas Intermediate (WTI) for this year, and many of the top companies can make solid money at those levels.

While the president did jaw down the price some on Thursday, WTI is still trading closer to $60 than $50, and with the busy summer driving season just about eight weeks away, and production from OPEC expected to stay lower, the sector makes sense for growth investors now.

We screened the Goldman Sachs energy coverage universe and found four stocks rated Buy that have big implied upside to the firm’s price targets.

Anadarko Petroleum

This top stock is still down a stunning 30% from highs printed in October, and it is also a solid liquefied natural gas (LNG) play. Anadarko Petroleum Corp. (NYSE: APC) operates through three segments. The Oil and Gas Exploration and Production segment explores for and produces natural gas, oil, condensate and natural gas liquids (NGLs). The other segments are Midstream and Marketing.

Anadarko has the capacity to sustain planned stock buybacks at current levels, providing support to close a value gap that many on Wall Street see at 50%. Strong free cash flow, enabled by advantaged Brent leverage, has competitive free cash compared with traditional large-cap “yield” names, but with competitive growth potential. The company has made a transition toward compelling value with growth and yield.

Anadarko Petroleum shareholders are paid a 2.66% dividend. The Goldman Sachs price target for the stock is $67.50. That compares with the Wall Street consensus price objective of $68.89. The shares closed trading on Thursday at $45.07.

Concho Resources

Last year, this company bought RSP Permian for $9.5 billion, and most on Wall Street liked the deal as a good bolt-on acquisition. Concho Resources Inc. (NYSE: CXO) is an independent oil and natural gas company engaged in the acquisition, development and exploration of oil and natural gas properties.

It offers investors a unique combination of investment themes, including valuation, rate-of-change and resource expansion themes. The company is the largest acreage holder of the publicly traded Permian large-caps and provides investors peer-leading exposure to three of the most impactful catalysts across the Delaware Basin, including the Wolfcamp XY, Wolfcamp D and Bone Spring Shale.

Concho Resources has reported strong earnings but still has a lot of upside to the posted price targets.

Goldman Sachs has a price target of $160, while the posted consensus target is $157.18. The stock closed most recently at $111.31 per share.

EOG Resources

This leading energy company is on the Goldman Sachs Conviction Buy List. EOG Resources Inc. (NYSE: EOG) is one of the largest independent exploration and production companies operating in the United States, Canada, Trinidad, the United Kingdom and China.

The company has a big well in Loving County in the Delaware Basin. Top analysts say the well ranks as one of the best they have ever seen in the basin, and it could easily impact other companies drilling in the region. EOG’s average dollar gross per well on a yearly basis ranks third among all operators.

EOG shareholders are paid a small 0.95% dividend. The $128 price target at Goldman Sachs compares with a consensus target last seen at $119.78. The shares were changing hands on Thursday’s close at $95.24 apiece.

Occidental Petroleum

This is one of the highest yielding domestic stocks in the energy sector. Occidental Petroleum Corp. (NYSE: OXY) is an oil-levered multinational organization with principal business segments in oil and gas and in chemicals. The oil and gas segment explores for, develops, produces and markets crude oil and natural gas, primarily in the U.S. Permian Basin, Colombia, Bolivia, Libya, Oman, Qatar and Yemen. Meanwhile, the chemicals segment manufactures and markets basic chemicals, vinyls and performance chemicals.

With the company’s rock solid balance sheet and a commitment to dividend coverage, investors look safe for now. Occidental has paid quarterly cash dividends continuously since 1975, and it has increased its dividend each year since 2002.

Shareholders of Occidental are paid a sizable 4.70% dividend. Goldman Sachs has set its price target on the shares at $81. That compares with a posted consensus target of $77.83, as well as the most recent close at $66.57 a share.

Pioneer Natural Resources

Many Wall Street analysts love this stock for a pure crude oil play, and it also resides on the Goldman Sachs Conviction Buy List. Pioneer Natural Resources Co. (NYSE: PXD) operates a modern fleet of more than 24 top performing drilling rigs throughout onshore oil and gas producing regions of the United States and Colombia. Pioneer production services are supported by 100 well-servicing rigs, more than 100 cased-hole, open-hole and offshore wireline units, and a range of advanced coiled tubing units.

Pioneer is a huge player in the Permian Basin and the Eagle Ford in Texas, and the company owns more than 20,000 locations in the world’s second-largest oil reservoir in the Midland Basin. With a stellar balance sheet, the company is poised to remain a top player in the Permian as it expects to deliver solid production growth in 2019 and beyond.

Its unmatched depth of low-cost inventory and balance sheet allow Pioneer to compete favorably in both mild and moderate recovery case scenarios. In addition to asset and financial strength, many analysts feel that Pioneer offers the second highest multiple contraction among the large-cap Permian pure-play peers, as well as the highest free-cash-flow yield.

Pioneer investors are paid a tiny 0.22% dividend. The Goldman Sachs price target is $200. The analysts’ consensus estimate is just below that level at $197.18, and the stock closed trading at $152.91 a share on Thursday.

These five top energy plays all offer investors very reasonable entry points, and while the president probably will continue to scold the sector from time to time, supply and demand ultimately will dictate the price. Demand remains strong and supply could be tightening.