Natural Gas Plays for the Current Hurricane Panic

Continuing commentary on a sector that has been awfully hot lately... Natural gas stocks are all the more popular these days as the tropics become more active and will likely produce a major hurricane this season that could hit the United States coastline and possibly affect oil production in the Gulf of Mexico.

September natural gas rose 20.4 cents, or 3% on Thursday, to close at $7.079 per million British thermal units, for a two-week high. This morning, it's way up again.

Stocks to watch in this sector that could benefit with the increase in natural gas prices include Cabot Oil & Gas Corp. (COG), Petroleum Development Corp. (PETD) and Global Industries Ltd. (GLBL).

COG-PETD-GLBL 1-yr comparison chart:

Comments

[Oneguy]

Good ideas -- and don't forget the big guys, Chesapeake also looks pretty well positioned, with hedged sales at $9 well into the future and the ability to continue production no matter what happens in the Gulf (their fields are in Texas, OK, and Appalachia, so not much natural disaster exposure). We've already gotten a bit of the hurricane premium back into prices, but prices remain quite low compared to what I expect this winter, and the lack of any catastrophic hurricane damage over the next month or so might bring a nice low buying point if you're inclined to gamble.