Navigating a low oil price

The low price of oil has thrown up a few opportunities for canny investors. Professional stockpicker Simon Gergel reveals three of his favourites.

Each week, a professional investor tells us where he'd put his money. This week:Simon Gergel of the Merchants Trust.

Navigating these uncertain political times is a tricky matter for fund managers these days. Brexit is, of course, a risk to the economy. However, many UK companies are exposed to relatively stronger global markets, where data is positive. As a result, the UK market remains steady, with volatility low.One sector particularly exposed to volatility over the last decade has been the oil and gas producers. Between 2011 and 2014, the price of Brent crude was above $100 a barrel. By early 2016, it had slumped to $27 a barrel, with fears that things could only get worse when Western sanctions on Iran were lifted, exacerbating the oversupply problem.

Today, producers that are members of the oil cartel Opec and Russia have helped to drive Brent back above $60 per barrel, by holding back 1.8 million barrels a day in oil production to tighten markets and prop up prices. Supply cuts are likely to extend beyond March 2018.

Subscribe to MoneyWeek

Subscribe to MoneyWeek today and get your first six magazine issues absolutely FREE

Get 6 issues free
https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/flexiimages/mw70aro6gl1676370748.jpg

Sign up to Money Morning

Don't miss the latest investment and personal finances news, market analysis, plus money-saving tips with our free twice-daily newsletter

Don't miss the latest investment and personal finances news, market analysis, plus money-saving tips with our free twice-daily newsletter

Sign up

The oil and gas producers have posted strong returns as a result they rose by an estimated 6% in October alone, responding to the oil price breaking through $60, its highest level since mid-2015. There were also encouraging results from the big oil companies, showing they are now generating enough cash to cover dividends after capital expenditure costs. This is an important milestone for major oil companies it suggests they've successfully restructured their models to be more resilient in a low-price environment, and are now generating sustainable dividend yields.Roughly 14% of our portfolio at the Merchants Trust is in the oil and gas sector. The following three stocks were among the best contributors to the positive performance of our portfolio in the third quarter of 2017.

Britishoil giant BP (LSE: BP) saw profits jump in the third quarter thanks to higher production and strong downstream earnings pre-tax profits more than doubled in the period to $2.95bn, up from $1.33bn a year ago. The company attributed the successful quarter to three new upstream projects and its highest downstream earnings in five years, and it has exercised spending discipline to generate healthy earnings and cash flow.

Royal Dutch Shell (LSE: RDSB) profits hit $3.7bn in the third quarter, which has enabled the group to resume paying its entire dividend in cash. Profits were helped by a strong performance from its refining business. Shell's gearing (level of borrowing) stands at 25.4%, but the leadership team is committed to reducing borrowings over the near-to-medium term, and reducing the share count via buy-backs in the longer term.

Outside the oil sector, outsourcer Equiniti (LSE: EQN) has also been a strong performer this year, driven mainly by two events. Firstly, rival Capita sold its registrar businesses at a price that implies Equiniti is significantly undervalued. Secondly, Equiniti bought Wells Fargo's US registry business, providing significant potential for near-term cost savings and longer-term growth opportunities.

Simon Gergel

Simon has been the Chief Investment Officer of UK Equities at Allianz Global Investors for more than 17 years and he has extensive experience in fund management. Previous to that, Simon was the Director Senior Fund Manager at HSBC for four years and a UK fund manager executivedirector at UBS Global Asset Management for 14 years. He has a degree in mathematics from the University of Cambridge. Simon contributes to MoneyWeek, giving his outlook on the stockmarket in MoneyWeek’s share tips.