In this piece, we will take a look at Ken Fisher's top 15 energy stock picks. If you want to skip our introduction to the billionaire hedge fund boss and the energy industry, then jump ahead to Ken Fisher's Top 5 Energy Stock Picks.
This year has been a reality check for the energy industry, after record high profits last year in the wake of the crude oil supply chain shock due to the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Oil companies, large and small, had bathed in record high profits last year. Leading the pack when it comes to big oil and 2022 oil industry profits is the American giant Exxon Mobil Corporation (NYSE:XOM) which brought in a massive $59 billion in profits and set a new record for the earnings of any Western oil company. In second, third, fourth, and fifth places are Shell plc (NYSE:SHEL), Chevron Corporation (NYSE:CVX), TotalEnergies SE (NYSE:TTE), and BP p.l.c. (NYSE:BP), which earned $39.9 billion, $36.5 billion, $36.2 billion, and $27.7 billion in profits, respectively. This enabled Shell to set a new profit record in its century-old history, and cumulatively, the oil giants brought in a stunning $200 billion in profits.
These profits also led to handsome shareholder rewards, with the oil companies paying out a whopping $110 billion to investors in the form of dividends and share buybacks. Additionally, Europe's rapid diversification from Russian gas to other sources also led to the Norwegian state owned oil and gas company Equinor ASA (NYSE:EQNR) doubling its operating income to $74.9 billion last year. Safe to say, 2022 was a year that neither the oil companies nor the consumer hit by record high pump prices will forget anytime in the future.
Moving forward to 2023, big oil it seems is in for a reckoning. For the second quarter of 2023, Shell and TotalEnergies reported painful 56% and 49% profit drops, respectively. Despite this, Total managed to still grow profits over the second quarter of 2021 while Shell's results remained in line with the earnings during the same time period. Equinor reported an even sharper drop as its Q2 profits tanked by 57% annually, but none of these could match BP's turmoil as the British oil giant reported its profits dropping by 70%. This trend is also present in smaller American oil exploration, production, and equipment companies. In fact, when it comes to share price performance this year, nearly all of the worst performing companies this year are either those that provide production equipment to oil companies or hold interests in petroleum producing properties. For more details, you can check out 15 Worst Performing Energy Stocks in 2023.
So, if energy is your favored investing segment, then right now might be the optimal time to scoop some stocks. As a primer, energy stocks tend to well in a robust economic environment as stronger corporate growth and more disposable incomes naturally lead to greater demand for their products. And one easy way to sift stocks is to take a look at what the professionals are doing.
One such professional, whose decades of experience in the stock market has provided him with remarkable insights into the markets, is none other than the billionaire Ken Fisher of Fisher Investments. Mr. Fisher is one of the richest people in the world, with his latest net worth estimated at a cool $6.8 billion. He is also one of the very few financial gurus out there that had correctly predicted last year that October was the start of a bull market. This was when most analysts were fearful of a recession. He continued being the wise guru that he is earlier this year when he bucked the trend of panic in the midst of a regional banking crisis and stressed that the risks of contagion remain minimal.
Given the current uncertainty about the future of the stock market for the remainder of the year, Mr. Fisher is back with his wisdom. He continues to be the optimist, stressing in a recent video:
So the reality is, sentiment is consistent with a continued bull market. We're not in pessimism anymore, but, we're not anywhere close to optimism. We got a ways to run. In the long term, the market is about economics and reality. And as Ben Graham famously said, "In the short term, the market's a voting machine. In the long term, it's a weighing machine." That long term is weighing those real things. In the short term, it's a voting machine which is more like an election and it's really about, who do you like, what are you afraid of. It's more about your emotions and sentiment. And that sentiment part is important to focus on. It right now is in a category regardless of which subsets of it you look at in the marketplace. Newsletters, pension plans, high retail investors, money managers, it's in the skepticism phase. And with that, you should remember Warren Buffett's famous line, that you should be fearful when others are greedy, and greedy when others are fearful. And right now people are not overly greedy. So, you should be.
Some of Ken Fisher's top energy stock picks are TotalEnergies SE (NYSE:TTE), Chevron Corporation (NYSE:CVX), and Shell plc (NYSE:SHEL).
Ken Fisher's Top 15 Energy Stock Picks
Our Methodology
To compile our list of Ken Fisher's top energy stock picks, we took a look at Fisher Investments' latest filings with the SEC that list down the firm's investments during the second quarter of 2023. Out of these, the top energy stocks are listed below.
PDC Energy, Inc. (NASDAQ:PDCE) is an American oil and gas exploration and production firm headquartered in Denver, Colorado. The firm has operations in Colorado and Texas. It missed analyst EPS estimates for its second quarter but the shares are still rated Buy on average.
Ken Fisher's Fisher Investments owned 1.1 million PDC Energy, Inc. (NASDAQ:PDCE) shares for a $78.7 million stake in Q2 2023. During the same time period, 35 out of the 910 hedge funds part of Insider Monkey's database had also bought the firm's shares, out of which Robert Emil Zoellner's Alpine Associates is the largest investor courtesy of a $131 million stake.
Along with Chevron Corporation (NYSE:CVX), TotalEnergies SE (NYSE:TTE), and Shell plc (NYSE:SHEL), PDC Energy, Inc. (NASDAQ:PDCE) is one of Ken Fisher's favorite energy stocks.
Halliburton Company (NYSE:HAL) is an oil and gas equipment and services provider. Despite the turmoil in the oil sector, the firm's well diversified business model has enabled it to beat analyst EPS estimates in all four of its latest quarters.
After digging through 910 hedge funds for their June quarter of 2023 investments, Insider Monkey discovered that 39 had invested in the firm. Halliburton Company (NYSE:HAL)'s biggest shareholder in our database is Richard S. Pzena's Pzena Investment Management since it owns 7.4 million shares that are worth $244 million.
Devon Energy Corporation (NYSE:DVN) is an oil and gas exploration and production company with operations in several U.S. states. Mr. Fisher's investment firm owned an $85 million stake in the company as this year's second quarter ended.
Along with him, 45 of the 910 hedge funds polled by Insider Monkey had also bought Devon Energy Corporation (NYSE:DVN)'s shares. Out of these, its biggest investor is Donald Yacktman's Yacktman Asset Management through a stake worth $145 million.
Marathon Oil Corporation (NYSE:MRO) is Texas based oil and gas production and marketing company. The firm has weathered the storm in the industry so far, as it has beaten analyst EPS estimates for all four of its latest quarters. Naturally, it's unsurprising that the stock is rated Buy on average.
Ken Fisher's Fisher Investments owned a $106.6 million stake in Marathon Oil Corporation (NYSE:MRO) during this year's June quarter. Including him, 43 of the 910 hedge funds part of Insider Monkey's research had also invested in in the company. Marathon Oil Corporation (NYSE:MRO)'s largest hedge fund investor is Steve Cohen's Point72 Asset Management since it has a $136 million investment.
Woodside Energy Group Ltd (OTCMKTS:WOPEF) is an Australian oil and gas company headquartered in Perth, Australia. The firm is currently negotiating with unions over wages at Australia's largest liquefied natural gas facility, which has also caused turmoil in European LNG markets.
Ken Fisher's Fisher Investments is Woodside Energy Group Ltd (OTCMKTS:WOPEF)'s biggest hedge fund investor in our database since it owns 5.4 million shares that are worth $126.6 million.
10. Petróleo Brasileiro S.A. - Petrobras (NYSE:PBR)
Fisher Investments' Q2 2023 Stake: $259.3 million
Petróleo Brasileiro S.A. - Petrobras (NYSE:PBR) is a state owned Brazilian oil company and the largest of its kind in the country. Despite its scale, the firm is planning to increase its capital investments over the next five years by 10% in order to meet Brazil's growing energy needs.
Insider Monkey dug through 910 hedge fund portfolios for their June quarter of 2023 shareholdings and discovered that 33 had invested in Petróleo Brasileiro S.A. - Petrobras (NYSE:PBR). Out of these, the firm's largest shareholder is Rajiv Jain's GQG Partners since it owns a $2.9 billion stake.
Schlumberger Limited (NYSE:SLB) is a backend oil and gas company that provides well management and other services to energy companies. Like Halliburton, it has also consistently beaten analyst EPS estimates for its four latest quarters and the stock is rated Strong Buy on average.
Mr. Fisher's investment firm owns a $380 million stake in the company as of June 2023, and cumulatively, 60 of the 910 hedge fund portfolios studied by Insider Monkey have invested in Schlumberger Limited (NYSE:SLB)'s shares. Rajiv Jain's GQG Partners is the company's largest investor among these, with an stake of $1.6 billion.
Hess Corporation (NYSE:HES) is a global oil and gas exploration and production firm with operations in the U.S., Malaysia, Thailand, and Canada. The firm had some good news for investors in its second quarter earnings report as it increased its 2023 oil production outlook.
As of 2023's second quarter, 52 out of the 910 hedge funds polled by Insider Monkey had held a stake in the oil company. Hess Corporation (NYSE:HES)'s biggest hedge fund shareholder is Fisher Investments, courtesy of a $429 million stake.
BP p.l.c. (NYSE:BP) is one of the largest oil companies in the world. Shifting dynamics in the oil industry last year led to the firm changing its emissions reduction plan, which created an uproar among climate activists.
Insider Monkey's June quarter of 2023 survey covering 910 hedge funds revealed that 36 had bought BP p.l.c. (NYSE:BP)'s shares. Peter Rathjens, Bruce Clarke, and John Campbell's Arrowstreet Capital is the company's largest stakeholder since it owns 21.4 million shares that are worth $756 million.
Exxon Mobil Corporation (NYSE:XOM) is another petro giant and one whose earnings have significantly suffered this year as the oil industry comes down from record profits last year. The shares are still rated Buy on average, with the latest rating of Overweight coming from Morgan Stanley in August 2023.
During Q2 2023, 71 out of the 910 hedge funds part of Insider Monkey's database had invested in the petro giant. Exxon Mobil Corporation (NYSE:XOM)'s biggest shareholder is Jean-Marie Eveillard's First Eagle Investment Management with a stake of $1.4 billion.
TotalEnergies SE (NYSE:TTE), Exxon Mobil Corporation (NYSE:XOM), Chevron Corporation (NYSE:CVX), and Shell plc (NYSE:SHEL) are some top energy stocks in Ken Fisher's second quarter of 2023 investment portfolio.
