Latest news with #Thummel
Axios
6 days ago
- Business
- Axios
Why BP takeover speculation won't go away
Shell's firm denial that it's eyeing acquisition of BP may tamp down chatter of a blockbuster deal for now — but it won't end speculation about BP's fate as long as it underperforms its Big Oil rivals. Catch up quick: Hours after the WSJ's buzzy scoop Wednesday about "early stage" talks, a Shell spokesperson said, "This is further market speculation. No talks are taking place." "As we have said many times before we are sharply focused on capturing the value in Shell through continuing to focus on performance, discipline and simplification," the company said. It also circulated execs' past comments about using capital to buy back shares, and the company's high bar for outside acquisitions. BP did not comment. Yes, but: The idea of a Shell-BP mega-merger has been floating around for a while. BP has trailed Shell's and TotalEnergies' performance among European-headquartered giants. And Big Oil has gotten bigger among U.S. multinationals, with Exxon's roughly $60 billion acquisition of Pioneer Natural Resources that closed last year, and Chevron's efforts to acquire Hess. What they're saying:"A combination could be the first step toward improving the valuations of the combined company" and boosting free cash flow, Rob Thummel, senior portfolio manager at Tortoise Capital, said in emailed comments about a Shell-BP tie-up. BP has recently pivoted back toward its core oil and gas business and gotten more selective about renewables, a move Thummel said recognizes its "core strengths." He notes BP's "top tier" assets in the Gulf of America (formerly the Gulf of Mexico), among other holdings. The bottom line: Thummel was asked whether Shell's comments will put merger speculation to rest. He doesn't think so, noting BP trades at a "cheap valuation."
Yahoo
06-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Oil prices have crashed to 4-year lows. That means cheaper gas for Americans hitting the roads this summer.
Oil prices dropped 2% on Monday to their lowest level since February 2021. The decline was sparked by OPEC's plans to increase oil supply by 411,000 barrels per day in June. Americans can expect gas prices to drop below $3 a gallon this summer, an analyst said. Oil prices are in free-fall, just in time for the busy summer driving season. US Crude prices dropped 2% on Monday to $57.10 a barrel, hitting the lowest level since February 2021, when the economy was still in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic. While that's not great news for oil producers, drivers are bound to get some relief from the plunge in crude prices in 2025. Data from GasBuddy shows the median US gas price per gallon is $2.99, up three cents from last week, while the average is $3.12, up two cents from last week. Falling oil prices typically translate into lower prices at the gas pump, and that's likely to happen with crude's latest plunge, but with a lag, Patrick De Haan, head of petroleum analysis at GasBuddy, said. "While gasoline inventories have been tightening due to ongoing refinery maintenance — which has limited how much gas prices have fallen in response to lower oil — refinery output is expected to rise soon," De Haan said in a note on Monday. Refinery maintenance is set to wrap up in the near term, De Haan said. This should increase the gasoline supply and cause the national average gasoline price to dip below $3. Falling prices at the gas pump would be welcome news for American drivers as they head into the summer vacation season—and what's good news for the consumer is good news for the economy. JPMorgan estimates that roughly 80% of consumer savings from lower gas prices are spent elsewhere, and that a dollar swing in gas prices can translate into tens of billions of dollars of consumer firepower a year. Monday's price decline came after a weekend OPEC+ meeting, in which the group of 8 oil-producing countries said they would increase the supply of oil for the month of June by 411,000 barrels per day. The increasing supply of oil set to hit the market comes at a time when demand is expected to weaken due to a slowing global economy, suggesting that oil prices can keep falling. "The solution to low prices is low prices," Rob Thummel, senior portfolio manager at Tortoise Capital, told BI. Thummel said he expects oil prices could fall to the low $50s per barrel in the short term, before stabilizing in the $60 to $80 per barrel range. That's because pumping oil when prices are below $60 is unprofitable for most countries. "The IMF estimates the breakeven oil prices needed for OPEC members to balance their budgets is higher than $80 per barrel for most countries except for United Arab Emirates," Thummel said. Low oil prices could wash out producers and ultimately lead to a decline in supply, which would help spark a rebound in prices. Read the original article on Business Insider
Yahoo
06-05-2025
- Automotive
- Yahoo
Oil prices have crashed to 4-year lows. That means cheaper gas for Americans hitting the roads this summer.
Oil prices dropped 2% on Monday to their lowest level since February 2021. The decline was sparked by OPEC's plans to increase oil supply by 411,000 barrels per day in June. Americans can expect gas prices to drop below $3 a gallon this summer, an analyst said. Oil prices are in free-fall, just in time for the busy summer driving season. US Crude prices dropped 2% on Monday to $57.10 a barrel, hitting the lowest level since February 2021, when the economy was still in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic. While that's not great news for oil producers, drivers are bound to get some relief from the plunge in crude prices in 2025. This embedded content is not available in your region. Data from GasBuddy shows the median US gas price per gallon is $2.99, up three cents from last week, while the average is $3.12, up two cents from last week. Falling oil prices typically translate into lower prices at the gas pump, and that's likely to happen with crude's latest plunge, but with a lag, Patrick De Haan, head of petroleum analysis at GasBuddy, said. "While gasoline inventories have been tightening due to ongoing refinery maintenance — which has limited how much gas prices have fallen in response to lower oil — refinery output is expected to rise soon," De Haan said in a note on Monday. Refinery maintenance is set to wrap up in the near term, De Haan said. This should increase the gasoline supply and cause the national average gasoline price to dip below $3. Falling prices at the gas pump would be welcome news for American drivers as they head into the summer vacation season—and what's good news for the consumer is good news for the economy. JPMorgan estimates that roughly 80% of consumer savings from lower gas prices are spent elsewhere, and that a dollar swing in gas prices can translate into tens of billions of dollars of consumer firepower a year. Monday's price decline came after a weekend OPEC+ meeting, in which the group of 8 oil-producing countries said they would increase the supply of oil for the month of June by 411,000 barrels per day. The increasing supply of oil set to hit the market comes at a time when demand is expected to weaken due to a slowing global economy, suggesting that oil prices can keep falling. "The solution to low prices is low prices," Rob Thummel, senior portfolio manager at Tortoise Capital, told BI. Thummel said he expects oil prices could fall to the low $50s per barrel in the short term, before stabilizing in the $60 to $80 per barrel range. That's because pumping oil when prices are below $60 is unprofitable for most countries. "The IMF estimates the breakeven oil prices needed for OPEC members to balance their budgets is higher than $80 per barrel for most countries except for United Arab Emirates," Thummel said. Low oil prices could wash out producers and ultimately lead to a decline in supply, which would help spark a rebound in prices. Read the original article on Business Insider Sign in to access your portfolio
Business Insider
05-05-2025
- Automotive
- Business Insider
Oil prices have crashed to 4-year lows. That means cheaper gas for Americans hitting the roads this summer.
Oil prices are in free-fall, just in time for the busy summer driving season. US Crude prices dropped 2% on Monday to $57.10 a barrel, hitting the lowest level since February 2021, when the economy was still in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic. While that's not great news for oil producers, drivers are bound to get some relief from the plunge in crude prices in 2025. What falling oil prices mean for your wallet Data from GasBuddy shows the median US gas price per gallon is $2.99, up three cents from last week, while the average is $3.12, up two cents from last week. Falling oil prices typically translate into lower prices at the gas pump, and that's likely to happen with crude's latest plunge, but with a lag, Patrick De Haan, head of petroleum analysis at GasBuddy, said. "While gasoline inventories have been tightening due to ongoing refinery maintenance — which has limited how much gas prices have fallen in response to lower oil — refinery output is expected to rise soon," De Haan said in a note on Monday. Refinery maintenance is set to wrap up in the near term, De Haan said. This should increase the gasoline supply and cause the national average gasoline price to dip below $3. Falling prices at the gas pump would be welcome news for American drivers as they head into the summer vacation season—and what's good news for the consumer is good news for the economy. JPMorgan estimates that roughly 80% of consumer savings from lower gas prices are spent elsewhere, and that a dollar swing in gas prices can translate into tens of billions of dollars of consumer firepower a year. OPEC to unleash supply Monday's price decline came after a weekend OPEC+ meeting, in which the group of 8 oil-producing countries said they would increase the supply of oil for the month of June by 411,000 barrels per day. The increasing supply of oil set to hit the market comes at a time when demand is expected to weaken due to a slowing global economy, suggesting that oil prices can keep falling. "The solution to low prices is low prices," Rob Thummel, senior portfolio manager at Tortoise Capital, told BI. Thummel said he expects oil prices could fall to the low $50s per barrel in the short term, before stabilizing in the $60 to $80 per barrel range. That's because pumping oil when prices are below $60 is unprofitable for most countries. "The IMF estimates the breakeven oil prices needed for OPEC members to balance their budgets is higher than $80 per barrel for most countries except for United Arab Emirates," Thummel said. Low oil prices could wash out producers and ultimately lead to a decline in supply, which would help spark a rebound in prices.
Yahoo
16-04-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Is ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) the Best Undervalued Energy Stock to Invest in Now?
We recently published a list of the 11 Best Undervalued Energy Stocks to Invest in Now. In this article, we are going to take a look at where ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) stands against other undervalued energy stocks. On March 18, Tortoise Capital senior portfolio manager Rob Thummel appeared on CNBC's 'Squawk on the Street' to discuss his outlook on the energy sector. He believes that natural gas is positioned to lead growth in the future within the energy sector. This natural gas demand is driven by electricity and energy exports. Thummel noted that the energy and tech sectors are converging due to advancements like AI and data centers. Electricity demand fuels natural gas consumption, while US energy exports help meet global needs for low-cost and low-carbon energy. He also highlighted that the US is now emerging as the largest exporter of LNG, even though it was an LNG importer just years ago. He anticipates that the US LNG exports will soon 2x in volume over time. Thummel also expects Europe and other countries to prioritize energy security and diversify their supply sources. This will ensure reliance on US energy exports. Thummel emphasized a focus on energy infrastructure companies while discussing his specific investment strategies as they tend to be stable and have high dividend yields even in uncertain market conditions. He thinks that the certainty provided by energy infrastructure investments in an otherwise volatile market should not be neglected. Such companies generate substantial annual cash flows while maintaining disciplined financial practices. Thummel thinks that the energy sector trades at a discount to historical valuations despite its fundamentals. This offers the potential for high returns. We used the Finviz stock screener to compile a list of the top energy stocks that had a forward P/E ratio under 15 as of April 10. We then selected the 11 stocks that were the most popular among elite hedge funds and that analysts were bullish on. The stocks are ranked in ascending order of the number of hedge funds that have stakes in them, as of Q4 2024. The hedge fund data was sourced from Insider Monkey's database which tracks the moves of over 1000 elite money managers. Why are we interested in the stocks that hedge funds pile into? The reason is simple: our research has shown that we can outperform the market by imitating the top stock picks of the best hedge funds. Our quarterly newsletter's strategy selects 14 small-cap and large-cap stocks every quarter and has returned 373.4% since May 2014, beating its benchmark by 218 percentage points (see more details here). An underground network of pipelines transporting oil through an expansive terrain. Forward P/E Ratio as of April 10: 10.98 Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 86 ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) explores, produces, transports, and markets crude oil, bitumen, natural gas, LNG, and natural gas liquids. Its segments include Alaska, Lower 48, Canada, Europe, Middle East & North Africa, Asia Pacific, and International. Its portfolio includes unconventional plays, conventional assets, global LNG developments, oil sands assets, and an inventory of global exploration prospects. The company's Lower 48 segment delivered a 5% production growth year-over-year for the full year 2024. This contributed to the company's overall 4% production growth. In Q4, the Lower 48 produced 1,308,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day. By basin, the production breakdown was 833,000 barrels in the Permian, 296,000 barrels in the Eagle Ford, and 151,000 barrels in the Bakken. The acquisition of Marathon in late November 2024 also enhanced the Lower 48 portfolio and added high-quality and low-cost supply inventory. ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) expects to achieve over $1 billion of run-rate synergies by the end of 2025. A substantial portion of this is already reflected in the capital guidance. The company also plans to reduce capital spending in the Lower 48 by ~$1.4 billion. Overall, COP ranks 2nd on our list of the best-undervalued energy stocks to invest in now. While we acknowledge the growth potential of COP, our conviction lies in the belief that AI stocks hold great promise for delivering high returns and doing so within a shorter time frame. There is an AI stock that went up since the beginning of 2025, while popular AI stocks lost around 25%. If you are looking for an AI stock that is more promising than COP but that trades at less than 5 times its earnings, check out our report about the cheapest AI stock. READ NEXT: 20 Best AI Stocks To Buy Now and 30 Best Stocks to Buy Now According to Billionaires Disclosure: None. This article is originally published at Insider Monkey. Sign in to access your portfolio
