Energy Watch

One month ago I talked about the extraordinarily high concentration of energy stocks within my stock screen machine. Interestingly enough, the performance of those stocks have been very good.

Collectively their monthly returns are up +10.37% with 29 gainers & 3 losers. The returns have been also provided next to each stock below:

If you can recall, last month I asked you to research the list and figure out which of all of these stocks were your favorites. If you completed that exercise (and hopefully you did), then you may find this helpful to see how the stocks actually performed since that post.

Five simple questions to now ask include: 1) What were your top favorites among this list? 2) Did you pick the best performers? 3) Why or why not? 4) What caused the major gains within Petroquest Energy (PQ), Southwestern Energy (SWN), and Continental Resources (CLR)? 5) Why did Bois d'Arc Energy (BDE), Rowan Companies (RDC), and Murphy Oil Corp (MUR) post losses while the others rallied?

For what it is worth, my three top favorites were Petroquest Energy (PQ), Halliburton (HAL), & Atwood Oceanics (ATW). I did ok with my selections, but I missed the opportunity in Continental Resources (CLR) which inspires me to figure out why this morning.

Remember, the act of creating watchlists based on your screens, research, themes, etc. and then tracking and asking questions like this will help you to become a much better stock picker. Make it part of your routine. Every week, pick a sector and do the research and track your results even if you have no money in play. Over time, you'll not only get to know a lot of stocks and many industries, but you'll be in the position to concentrate your focus on the most attractive situations at the right time.