All eyes are on the oil & gas industry at the start of the new year, or at least they should be. The US has just surpassed other major world-producers of both oil and gas, largely thanks to the boom in extraction from unconventional sources, primarily from the nation’s many shale formations. And while there has been much concern about the possibility of oversupply making American natural gas simply not profitable enough to pump, companies are practically salivating at the possibility that they will soon have much greater leeway to export their product to the rest of the world, as it should be in an energy independent nation.
By now, however, investors are likely well aware that the independent oil & gas companies have been the main drivers of this boom. Thankfully, they aren’t the only plays available for those looking to ride the wave via equities.
The following five stocks have been selected from the oil & gas industries, based on two criteria. Their (for now) relatively tiny share of the market (micro-caps are companies with a market-cap of between $50 and $300 million), suggests that they have plenty of room to grow, and their relatively high levels of institutional ownership suggest that funds operating on Wall Street believe in their ability to eventually bring in big returns.
Cal Dive International Inc. (DVR)
Industry: Oil & Gas Equipment & Services
Market-Cap: $182.9 million
Price: $1.95
Institutional Ownership: 91.90 percent
2013 Performance: +13.56 percent
Blueknight Energy Partners, L.P. (BKEP)
Industry: Oil & Gas Pipelines
Market-Cap: $195.65 million
Price: $8.62
Institutional Ownership: 82 percent
2013 Performance: +27 percent
KiOR, Inc. (KIOR)
Industry: Oil & Gas Refining & Marketing
Market-Cap: $186.71 million
Price: $1.75
Institutional Ownership: 77.30 percent
2013 Performance: -74.75 percent
Dawson Geophysical Co. (DWSN)
Industry: Oil & Gas Equipment & Services
Market-Cap: $272.29 million
Price: $34.32
Institutional Ownership: 75.60 percent
2013 Performance: +22.65 percent
North American Energy Partners Inc. (NOA)
Industry: Oil & Gas Equipment & Services
Market-Cap: $204.82 million
Price: $5.65
Institutional Ownership: 71.60 percent
2013 Performance: +63.65 percent
