Investopedia: Total Looks Cheap, But There's A Reason

Some investors and commentators treat the international oil majors as an undifferentiated mass, suggesting that investors need only follow dividend yields and/or PE ratios to find the best bargains at a given point in time. Total (NYSE:TOT) offers a good example of why that's not a very good approach. While Total's aggressive exploration program could offer some upside to production and profits down the road, the company's leverage to high oil prices and lower margins/returns underline a riskier business model that ought to trade at some discount to peers.

Please follow this link for more:
http://www.investopedia.com/stock-analysis/042913/total-looks-cheap-theres-reason-tot-xom-cvx-apc-su-sto.aspx

Investopedia: Near Tangible Book, Teck Is Worth A Look

Commodity companies can do nothing to change the sometimes-devastating cyclicality of their markets, but that same cyclicality gives investors multiple chances to play the same stocks. Right now there's a great deal of worry about global growth, and particularly growth in markets like China, Brazil and Europe. Although no investor should fool themselves about the risks involved, the fact that Teck Resources (NYSE:TCK) trades near tangible book value ought to be of interest to investors looking for potentially over-punished commodity stocks.

Read more here:
http://stocks.investopedia.com/stock-analysis/2012/Near-Tangible-Book-Teck-Is-Worth-A-Look-TCK-FCX-SU-TOT0524.aspx

Petrobras Stuck In The Middle

At first glance, these should be great days for Brazil's energy giant Petrobras (NYSE: PBR). Not only are oil prices heading higher, but Petrobras has privileged access to some of the largest oil fields known today. Unfortunately for PBR investors, there is a great deal of skepticism regarding management's capabilities, and this quarter will not help ease those concerns. 

A Quarter That Does Not Hold Up
At first glance, it would seem that Petrobras had a solid third quarter. After all, net income was up 17% from last year. While revenue was up 14% from last year and up 2% sequentially, EBITDA was up 1% and down 1% for the same respective time periods. A lot of that seemingly strong net income number was fueled by a currency benefit, making it a low-quality beat.

Moreover, some worrying details were in the numbers. Production was up just 1% from last year (and down 1% sequentially), and although this was not a surprise (management discussed this earlier), it marks another entry in this management's history of over-promising and under-delivering on production growth guidance. Even more concerning, though, was the 8% increase in domestic lifting costs (up 1% from the Q2). In other words, the company is not pumping as much as it should, and it's costing more to do it.

Please follow the link for the full piece:
http://stocks.investopedia.com/stock-analysis/2010/Petrobras-Stuck-In-The-Middle-PBR-COP-SU-RDS.A-RDS.B-CEO-PTR1115.aspx

Learn From Apache's Success

Here is a second piece this morning:
http://stocks.investopedia.com/stock-analysis/2010/Learn-From-Apaches-Success-APA-DVN-SU-UPL-XOM0503.aspx

Mid-major energy company Apache (NYSE:APA) is a curious case of collective amnesia in the professional investment world. Even though Apache has more than proven itself as among the best of the best, it seems as though the company is often questioned, doubted and discounted by analysts and investors.

I mean, if you look at stock performance over the last 15 years, Apache is well ahead of rivals like Anadarko (NYSE:APC), Devon (NYSE:DVN) and Canadian Natural (NYSE:CNQ), and trails only Suncor (NYSE:SU) and EOG (NYSE:EOG) among those in its "weight class". Maybe you would think that that sort of record would earn management the benefit of the doubt.

For the rest of the story:
http://stocks.investopedia.com/stock-analysis/2010/Learn-From-Apaches-Success-APA-DVN-SU-UPL-XOM0503.aspx