With the price of West Texas Intermediate (WTI) – the U.S. benchmark for crude oil – up nearly 23% this year, investors have been piling into oil and energy stocks hoping to make a profit off the price rebound. After all, WTI endured a brutal 37% selloff in Q4, making now a great time to invest in the energy sector while prices are rising but also still reasonably low.
So far this year, energy stocks trading on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) and Nasdaq have seen gains as big as 220%. That’s a stunning return when investors consider how the S&P 500 has only climbed 11% and the sector-specific NYSE Energy Index is up nearly 14%.
Here are the five top-performing stocks in the energy sector this year…
No. 5: SAExploration Holdings Inc. (SAEX)
Shares of the energy surveying company soared 136% from the Dec. 31 close of $1.87 to the most recent close of $4.42 on Friday, Feb. 15. Investors saw the most explosive returns between Jan. 9 and Jan. 11 as the stock climbed 167% to a near four-month high of $5.85 per share.
That rally came on the heels of Jan. 9 news that COO Brian Beatty filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) noting a significant increase in his equity ownership of the company. According to the filing, Beatty bought 3,050 more shares of SAEX stock at an average of $2.08 a piece. His purchase indicated strong confidence in the company’s future growth, which seemed to entice investors to follow suit and push the stock up 167% in three days.
No. 4: Ion Geophysical Corp. (IO)
Ion, which provides seismic land data to oil and gas firms, has seen its stock surge 142% in 2019 from $5.18 to $12.54. The longest stretch of gains occurred from Jan. 3 to Jan. 9 when shares of the company climbed 81% from $5.51 to $9.98.
While no company-specific news ties into IO’s rally in early January, the likely cause is the broader rebound in oil prices around that time, which subsequently boosted sentiment in energy stocks overall. Between Jan. 3 and Jan. 9, WTI rocketed more than 11% from $47.40 to $52.69, the highest close since Dec. 13. This urged investors to buy energy stocks en masse, ultimately lifting the NYSE Energy Index – which tracks over 100 U.S.-based oil and gas companies – by nearly 7%.
No. 3: Ferrellgas Partners LP (FGP)
Ferrellgas stock has skyrocketed 155.5% from $0.54 to $1.38 a share as of the last close on Feb. 15. Shares of the propane supplier roared right out of the gate on the first January session, shooting up 131% to $1.25 on Jan. 9 for their highest settlement since Dec. 6.
Again, as with Ion Geophysical Corp.’s early January gains, there are no specific news stories responsible for FGP’s monster rally during the first six sessions of January. In fact, the gains came as somewhat of a surprise after the company announced the NYSE issued a warning saying FGP stock was no longer in compliance with the exchange’s listing standards. According to the press release, Ferrellgas failed to comply because “the average closing price of the Company’s common units over a consecutive 30-day trading period was less than $1.00 per unit.”
No. 2: Flotek Industries Inc. (FTK)
Shares of Flotek, a provider of chemistry technologies for oil and gas firms, are up a staggering 173% this year from $1.09 to $2.98. The biggest gain came on Jan. 11 when the stock popped nearly 96% to $2.76 for the best close in nearly five months.
The 96% gain followed Flotek announcing it would sell its subsidiary Florida Chemical to Archer Daniels Midland for $175 million. The deal is expected to close by the end of the quarter, with Flotek CEO John Chisholm saying “the benefits of this transaction are extremely compelling on multiple fronts and in the best interest of our stakeholders.” Investors clearly agreed with that sentiment as they nearly doubled the stock price in one day.
No. 1: SPI Energy Co. Ltd. (SPI)
The biggest energy stock gainer of 2019 so far is SPI Energy, a global provider of photovoltaic (PV) and solar devices for both government and utility customers. Shares of SPI are up a whopping 220% this year from $0.86 to $2.75, with the biggest one-day rally happening on Jan. 23 when the stock vaulted 193% from $0.98 to $2.87.
SPI also happens to be one of the best-performing penny stocks of the year thanks to the Jan. 17 announcement that the company would purchase 6.6 million shares in a $7.6 million private placement deal at a share price of $1.16. That news – combined with the Nasdaq accepting the company’s application for continued listing on the exchange – have lifted shares to their highest level since September.