Oil and gas stocks trade in an industry that is subject to a kaleidoscopic array of variables, one that can make retail investors feel as though returns cannot be attained without access to the kind of capital budget and technical know-how required by, say, a $500 billion drilling project in the Arctic Circle.
After all, global oil and gas prices are subject to the whims of governments (often unscrupulous ones), and pricing cartels such as OPEC, while weather, transportation, supply, demand, and operational efficacy can make appearances at any time.
And these variables can always be further compounded by the reserves are by definition diminishing assets, able only to give less and less product throughout the course of their lifetime. And don’t forget the occasional era-defining technological breakthrough that waltzes onto the scene without notice, rearranging the way the game is played at any given time. For the time being, that distinction rests with the shale industry and its horizontal drilling techniques that have made the US an unlikely leader in global oil and gas production.
Any combination of these factors can make consistency a difficult proposition for producers, which is why the following four companies are notable. Over the past five years, each one has managed to grow both earnings-per-share and sales by at least 25 percent, and have also posted impressive growth in both categories in the most recently ended period as well.
TransGlobe Energy Corp. (TGA)
Industry: Independent
Market-Cap & Price: $547.58 million / $7.41
EPS & Sales Growth (past five years):+98.70 percent / +102.20 percent
EPS & Sales Growth (last quarter): +335.70 percent / +72.10 percent
Five-Year Performance: +159.09 percent
Tesoro Logistics LP (TLLP)
Industry: Equipment & Services
Market-Cap & Price: $2.15 billion / $61.91
EPS & Sales Growth (past five years): +33.70 percent / +65.60 percent
EPS & Sales Growth (last quarter): +4.70 percent / +108.20 percent
Five-Year Performance: +163.33 percent
Kodiak Oil & gas Corp. (KOG)
Industry: Drilling & Exploration
Market-Cap & Price:$3.15 billion / $11.85
EPS & Sales Growth (past five years): +25.50 percent / +113.10 percent
EPS & Sales Growth (last quarter): +39.30 percent / +167.30 percent
Five-Year Performance: +114.28 percent
Oasis Petroleum Inc. (OAS)
Industry: Independent
Market-Cap & Price: $3.85 billion / $40.83
EPS & Sales Growth (past five years): +53.80 percent / +101.10 percent
EPS & Sales Growth (last quarter): +23.90 percent / +55.70 percent
Five-Year Performance: +155.83 percent