It was a tough day for the energy sector on Monday, but despite the fact that some producers’ shares fell more than 10%, there are lessons to be learned.
First, discouraging news out of the Alberta oil patchreported that nearly all of Canada's $1.6-billion bailout was depleted in less than a year. In December 2018, the federal government deployed a package of loans, guarantees and government grants in the hands of companies, but few details are available on how that money was spent.
South of the border, the US oil benchmark, WTI, lost around 2% and closed below $57 a barrel. This was mainly due to waining optimism over a trade deal ever being reached between Washington and China. Lower crude prices will affect the cash flows of oil-focused producers.
Recent news that winter temperatures will begin rising soonalso wasn’t good for share prices for those in the business of natural gas, which fell 4% in response to these headlines.
Oil prices have been volatile as of late and investors are likely eager to find out how to capitalize when the going is good, while avoiding any major blows to the market. No clairvoyant answer exists, but finding the path of least resistance, some options emerge.
Want to avoid commodity price volatility? Take a look at stocks that have as little exposure to it a possible. A company under a master limited partnership (MLP) for example, has a competitive advantage. In the US, a company that earns 90% of its income from the exploration, production, processing and transportation of natural resources is exempt from paying income tax at the corporate level.
Some of the bigger MLPs in energy that have had somewhat flat stock performance, despite generating solid business include:
- MPLX (NYSE:MPLX) - Owns both pipelines and gathering and processing assets with extensive holdings in the Appalachian region
- Plains All American Pipeline (NYSE:PAA) - Covers all the bases as an MLP with assets in the US and Canada
- Brookfield Infrastructure Partners (NYSE:BIP) - Reported an increase in business generated and income on October 2019
The argument could also be made that alternative energies are paving the path of the future (for lack of a better analogy). Environmentalism has been an increasing driver behind political action and some industries are wide open to boom if attention diverts from traditional energy.
Wind power:
At a total capacity above 8%, wind turbines are neck-and-neck with both nuclear capacity and hydroelectric capacity.
mCloud Technologies Corp. (TSX-V: MCLD) - This operation seeks to curb energy waste by using AI and analytics, including wind turbines and other energy systems, such as oil and gas. The stock performance might tell one story, but this asset care manager recently reported a jumpin revenue for the nine-month period ended September 30, 2019 from $14.4 million (CAD) compared to $1.8 million for full fiscal 2018.
General Electric Company (NYSE: GE) - This giant has a wind turbine business of its own that acquired related operationsfrom Alstom SA for $13 billion (USD) and LM Wind Power for $1.7 billion. This move created GE's largest industrial business - GE Power.
Riding the wave:
Another part of the new reality is that climate change could make the cost of doing business cheaper. Worldwide shipping company Nordic Bulk Carriers, stated that it has been able to save up to $500,000 a trip through the Arctic seaways thanks to melting ice caps.
The hotter it gets, one thing is for sure, the demand to keep cool will also rise. Global energy demand for heating is projected to increase until 2030and then stabilize. The global advanced HVAC controls market is also expected to post a CAGR of more than 10% during the period 2019-2023, according to the latest market research report by Technavio.
This is good news for companies in the HVAC space such as mCloud and CCOM Group, Inc. (OTC Pink: CCOM) , the latter of which posted an increase in sales, income and profit for Q3 2019.
While news on the energy front may seem gloomier than this winter’s forecast, it has opened up potential in other ares to invest and it doesn’t even seem like oil and gas is going to be hurting too badly in the near future anyway.
Has the trend in news directed toward the energy sector changed how you invest? Let us know in the comments below.
FULL DISCLOSURE: mCloud Technologies Corp. is a client of Stockhouse Publishing.