After spending the early part of the year consistently lower, the price of oil has fluctuated higher in recent months, largely on security concers related to several different Western-Asian calamities in places like Syria and Egypt, as well as uncertainty over the Federal Reserve's support of the economy, and last but not least, the current fight in Washington, D.C. over the budget and the debt ceiling.
For the time being, however, the uncertainty seems to be favoring smaller oil and gas producers, who are not uncumbered like their larger peers by vast holdings and operations throughout the many troubled spots of the globe, and who can spend more of their time focusing on more profitable ventures, increasingly centered these days around the high-tech process of extracting shale-based energy.
The following seven small-cap companies represent stocks from the various oil&gas sectors that have shown strong performance over the past quarter, up at least 40 percent. Furthermore, all seven of these stocks are trading at least 20 percent higher than their 50-day simple moving averages, indicating a serious up trend. All seven have also, unsurprisingly, been rated as "buy" or better by analysts.
Magnum Hunter Resources Corp (MHR) –
Market Cap: $1.7 billion
Price: $6.91
Percentage above SMA50: 40.21 percent
Quarterly Performance: 73.62 percent
Goodrich Petroleum Corp. ($GDP) –
Market Cap: $1.03 billion
Price: $28.04
Percentage Above SMA50: 22.89 percent
Quarterly Performance: 113.23 percent
TransGlobe Energy Corp. (TGA) –
Market Cap: $663.39 million
Price: $9.06
Percentage Above SMA50: 25.95 percent
Quarterly Performance: 55.94 percent
Triangle Petroleum Corporation (TPLM) –
Market Cap: $598.95 million
Price: $10.61
Percentage Above SMA50: 33.23 percent
Quarterly Performance: 48.18 percent
Aegean Marine Petroleum Network Inc. (ANW) –
Market Cap: $550.04 million
Price: $12.15
Percentage Above SMA50: 20.96 percent
Quarterly Performance: 43.79 percent
Penn Virginia Corporation (PVA) –
Market Cap: $457.28 million
Price: $7.27
Percentage Above SMA50: 34 percent
Quarterly Performance: 44.82 percent
Miller Energy Resources (MILL) –
Market Cap: $352.85 million
Price: $8.21
Percentage Above SMA50: 30.97 percent
Quarterly Performance: 93.33 percent
