My readers likely already know that I have begun tracking the weekly stock performance of offshore drilling companies in order to provide another dimension for analyzing the companies. As I also follow, invest in, and frequently write about large foreign oil companies, I have decided to begin writing weekly performance updates on these stocks as well. It is my hope that by comparing the relative performance of these stocks, investors can add another aspect to their decision making process.
Statoil (STO) opened the week at $28.03. The stock closed at $27.46 in after hours trading on March 23, 2012. Stockholders in the company thus suffered a loss of $0.57 per share or 2.03% over the week.
Source: Fidelity Investments
BP plc (BP) opened the week at $46.88. The stock closed at $45.55 in after hours trading on March 23, 2012. This gives BP shareholders a loss of $1.33 or 2.84% over the week.
Source: Fidelity Investments
Total S.A. (TOT) opened on March 19, 2012 at $55.50 per share. The stock closed at $53.88 in after hours trading on March 23. Thus, Total shareholders took a capital loss of $1.62 or 2.92% over the week. Total went ex-dividend on March 19. Shareholders as of that date will receive a dividend payment of 0.57 euro per share. This converts to approximately $0.757 at today's currency conversion rates. If we back the dividend out of the capital loss then we get a loss of approximately $0.863 or 1.55% over the week, excluding the effect of taxes.
Source: Fidelity Investments
Suncor (SU) opened on March 19, 2012 at $33.42. The stock closed at $32.91 in after hours trading on March 23. This gives the stock a loss of $0.51 or 1.53% over the week.
Source: Fidelity Investments
Royal Dutch Shell (RDS.A) opened at $71.40 on March 19, 2012. The stock closed at $70.45 in after hours trading on Friday, March 23. Shareholders thus took a loss of $0.95 per share or 1.33% over the week.
Source: Fidelity Investments
Royal Dutch Shell was the best performing stock, although Total was a close second after adjusting for the dividend. Not one of these companies delivered a positive return, however. Shareholders in Total suffered the greatest loss in terms of the stock price, but it was not the greatest loss of money, after adjusting for the dividend. Overall, BP's stock was the worst-performing one of this group over the week of March 19, 2012 - March 23, 2012.
As with my performance updates of offshore drilling stocks, it is my intention to provide these updates weekly and expand upon them. I welcome suggestions to improve these performance updates going forward.
