This week, global leaders flew in private jets and extensive motorcades to meet regarding the climate and how greenhouse gas emissions could be curbed. The meeting occurred as oil prices globally hovered near a seven-year high with no sign of abating.
Those high prices are starting to show up positively for traditional hydrocarbon companies as well. Any stock that has an oil or gas well has been a strong performer in recent months.
The latest winner is ConocoPhillips (COP). The company handily beat on earnings, hitting $1.77 per share against expectations of $1.50. The international market did better than expected, and the domestic market came in just under what analysts were looking for.
Thanks to these strong numbers, shares of the big-cap energy company are likely to continue adding to their 155 percent return in the past year. And shares have moved from 73 times forward earnings to just 11 times forward earnings even as shares have advanced strongly.
Action to take: Shares are valued rather cheaply and the company has a strong balance sheet, no matter what happens in the energy market from here. Today’s buyers can get a 2.5 percent dividend yield, which will likely rise soon as well.
Traders may like to play the current uptrend with a call option. The January $80 calls, last going for about $1.85, can likely deliver mid-to-high double-digit returns and offset any unseasonably high energy prices this winter season.
Disclosure: The author of this article has no position in the company mentioned here, and does not intend to trade after the next 72 hours. The author receives no compensation from any of the companies mentioned in this article.