Oil, the Canadians, and Petrobras

Text size

To the Editor:
Ownership of oil and gas reserves—especially in the U.S.—in an era of a cheapening dollar is very comfortable (“10 Stocks to Play a Resurgent Energy Sector, From Our Roundtable Experts,” Cover Story, May 19). Gems and gold are old-fashioned; crypto, highly risky. Current production, meanwhile, creates a very satisfactory cash flow and large cash distributions to investors.

Joseph King, On Barrons.com

To the Editor:
Interesting that two topics didn’t come up: the Canadians, some of whom are the lowest-cost producers of oil or gas, and midstream energy companies, some of which today have promising upside.

R. Paul Drake, On Barrons.com

To the Editor:
After closely reading your cover story on oil investment opportunities and Craig Mellow’s International Trader column (“Brazil’s Market Likes Its New President. 6 Stocks to Play,” May 19), I was astonished to find no emphasis on Petróleo Brasileiro, or Petrobras.

The American depositary receipts of this giant multinational oil company, which is 29% owned by the government and arguably Brazil’s corporate crown jewel, trade at an enormous discount to their peers. Petrobras has a current market capitalization of $74 billion, a forward price/earnings ratio of 3.9, and a healthy dividend yield.

It is technologically advanced and owns tremendous reserves of uncommonly high-quality offshore oil. Its recently appointed CEO is politically moderate and has extensive industry experience. He’s hinted at stock buybacks of the company’s undervalued shares, and, because the government’s treasury depends upon Petrobras’ generous dividends, the CEO and board are unlikely to reduce the payouts too dramatically.

I am certainly no expert, but Petrobras at today’s prices seems like a promising investment choice.

Michael G. Michaelson, Washington, D.C.

Rate Hike Scenario

To the Editor:
Regarding “Why an Interest Rate Hike Is Still on the Table for June” (Economy, May 19), a rate increase in June followed by a pause should be less economically stressful than a pause in June followed by a hike later.

Ron Minarik, Mystic, Conn.

ChatGPT Companies

To the Editor:
We are now in a new world of artificial-intelligence technology, which is changing every industry (“It’s Time to Think Bigger on AI. These 8 Stocks Could Be the Next Winners,” Tech Trader, May 19). There are many companies spending millions of dollars on ChatGPT to profit from this new-world application for acquiring information. I feel that all investors should have one or many of these companies as part of their diversified portfolios.

Martin Blumberg, Melville N.Y.

Send letters to: [email protected]. To be considered for publication, correspondence must bear the writer’s name, address, and phone number. Letters are subject to editing.

Source: https://www.barrons.com/articles/oil-the-canadians-and-petrobras-24993852?siteid=yhoof2&yptr=yahoo