Hot Energy Companies To Invest In Right Now

The major U.S. markets are moderately lower this afternoon. As of 12:50 p.m. EDT the Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJINDICES: ^DJI  ) is down 42 points, or 0.27%, while the S&P 500 has lost 0.45% and the Nasdaq is 0.33% lower. Earlier today it was reported that homebuilder confidence is now at its highest level in seven and a half years and that industrial production rose in June. But investors are now seeing signs that the economy may not be as strong as it seems and may face serious challenges in the future. A few earnings reports (more on those below) and inflation concerns are sending stocks lower today. The Bureau of Labor Statistics released its Consumer Price Index today, reporting that prices rose 0.5% in June. While the bulk of the increase owed to higher energy prices, which rose 3.4%, the CPI is up 1.6% over the past year, and when you take out food and energy, the core CPI rose 0.2% in June.�

On to earnings
As earnings season marches on, two Dow components released results this morning. Coca-Cola (NYSE: KO  ) reported earnings of $0.63 per share when excluding one-time items, which is in line with expectations, but it missed Wall Street's estimated revenue of $12.95 billion, posting sales of $12.75 billion. The company cited "bad weather" as a reason for its weakness. Its overall volume rose, even as its key product, sodas, realized a 4% volume decline. Shares of Coke are down 1.4% at the time of writing.�

Hot Energy Companies To Invest In Right Now: Bankers Petroleum Ltd (BNK.TO)

Bankers Petroleum Ltd. (Bankers) is engaged in the exploration for and oil in Albania. The Company generates all of the oil revenue from its operations in Albania, which is located northwest of Greece in South Eastern Europe. In Albania, Bankers operates and has the rights to develop the Patos-Marinza and Kucova oilfields pursuant to License Agreements with the Albanian National Agency for Natural Resources (AKBN) and Petroleum Agreements with Albpetrol Sh.A (Albpetrol), the state-owned oil and gas corporation. The Patos-Marinza oilfield is an onshore oilfield in continental Europe, holding approximately 5.1 billion barrels of original-oil-in-place (OOIP). The Company also has rights to exploration Block F (adjacent to the Patos-Marinza oilfield), an 185,000 acre oil and gas prone exploration field. The Company�� subsidiaries include Bankers Petroleum Albania Ltd. (BPAL), Bankers Petroleum International Limited (BPIL) and Sherwood International Petroleum Ltd (Sherwood).

Hot Energy Companies To Invest In Right Now: Halliburton Company(HAL)

Halliburton Company provides various products and services to the energy industry for the exploration, development, and production of oil and natural gas worldwide. It operates in two segments, Completion and Production, and Drilling and Evaluation. The Completion and Production segment offers production enhancement services, completion tools and services, cementing services, and Boots & Coots. Its production enhancement services include stimulation and sand control services; completion tools and services comprise subsurface safety valves and flow control equipment, surface safety systems, packers and specialty completion equipment, intelligent completion systems, expandable liner hanger systems, sand control systems, well servicing tools, and reservoir performance services; cementing services consist of bonding the well and well casing, while isolating fluid zones and maximizing wellbore stability, and casing equipment; and Boots & Coots include well intervention services , pressure control, equipment rental tools and services, and pipeline and process services. The Drilling and Evaluation segment provides field and reservoir modeling, drilling, evaluation, and wellbore placement solutions that enable customers to model, measure, and optimize their well construction activities. Its services comprise fluid services, drilling services, drill bits, wireline and perforating services, testing and subsea services, software and asset solutions, and integrated project management and consulting services. The company serves independent, integrated, and national oil companies. Halliburton Company was founded in 1919 and is headquartered in Houston, Texas.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Tyler Crowe and Aimee Duffy]

  It has been a long process cleaning up the 1,100 miles of coastline that was contaminated during the spill. BP and rig operator Transocean (NYSE: RIG  ) combined have spent almost $20 billion in litigation and cleanup costs. In this video, Fool.com contributors Tyler Crowe and Aimee Duffy look at how BP, Transocean, and the third party involved in Macondo spill, Halliburton (NYSE: HAL  ) have fared after the spill.

• [By Isac Simon]

  It's been a busy week for Halliburton (NYSE: HAL  ) . And at the end, the second largest oil services company seems to have come out trumps. Here is a company whose management knows what it's doing. The strategy to return cash to investors through share buybacks is proving to be a master stroke.

• [By Aaron Levitt]

  For investors, oil stocks are certainly shining this earnings season. OXY and BP, as well previous reports by Schlumberger (SLB) and Halliburton (HAL), are proving that fact.

• [By Sean Williams]

  This week, we'll hop on over to the oil and natural gas drilling equipment and service sector and examine why Halliburton (NYSE: HAL  ) makes for an attractive future income play.

Top Oil Companies To Invest In 2014: SilverCrest Mines Inc (SVL.V)

SilverCrest Mines Inc. (SilverCrest) is engaged in the acquisition, exploration and development of mineral properties in Mexico and Central America. The Company�� principal focus is the development and operation of the Santa Elena Project, which property consists of seven mineral concessions totaling 2,726.54 hectares, portions of which include the producing Santa Elena gold and silver mine located northeast of Hermosillo, Sonora State, Mexico. It operates in three segments: the mine operations at Santa Elena, Mexico; mine exploration and evaluation projects at La Joya and Cruz de Mayo, Mexico, and Corporate. The Company is also focused on exploring and developing its La Joya Property located in Durango, Mexico, which contains a discovered polymetallic deposit. The Company�� other mineral properties include the Cruz de Mayo Project (Mexico), the La Joya Property (Mexico), the Silver Angel Project (Mexico) and the El Zapote Project (El Salvador).

Hot Energy Companies To Invest In Right Now: Cliffs Natural Resources Inc.(CLF)

Cliffs Natural Resources Inc., a mining and natural resources company, produces iron ore pellets, lump and fines iron ore, and metallurgical coal products. The company operates six iron ore mines in Michigan, Minnesota, and eastern Canada; two iron ore mining complexes in Western Australia; five metallurgical coal mines located in West Virginia and Alabama; and one thermal coal mine located in West Virginia. It also owns a 45% economic interest in a coking and thermal coal mine located in Queensland, Australia; and a 30% interest in Amapa, a Brazilian iron ore project in Latin America, as well as chromite properties in Ontario, Canada. The company, formerly known as Cleveland-Cliffs Inc, was founded in 1847 and is headquartered in Cleveland, Ohio.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By John Divine]

  Cliffs Natural Resources (NYSE: CLF  ) slipped 3.6%, as the mining company felt the effects of weak industrial data from China today. The rapidly growing Chinese economy is the second largest in the world, and much of its growth relies on its manufacturing and industrial capabilities. The fact that its factory output decreased for the first time in seven months spells some potentially rough times ahead for Cliffs and other industry-reliant industries.

• [By Ben Levisohn]

  U.S. iron-ore miners have also risen thanks to China optimism. Cliff’s Natural Resources (CLF), for one, has jumped 3.1% to $25.09 today, continuing a hot streak that saw it gain 18% last week. Dubinsky and Chaudhri explain:

Hot Energy Companies To Invest In Right Now: American Power Corp (AMPW)

American Power Corp (AMPW), incorporated on August 7, 2007, is an exploration-stage company. The Company�� primary focus is on acquiring, exploring and developing coal, oil and gas properties in the United States, with a particular focus on the Rocky Mountains region. The Company has acquired certain coal and minerals rights located in the Judith Basin County, Montana, collectively known as the PACE Coal Project.

As of December 29, 2011, the Company had completed a total of 14,076 feet of drilling for all three phases of its exploration drilling program. As of September 30, 2011, the Company�� sole project was PACE Coal Project. As of September 30, 2011, the Company had not generated any revenues.

Hot Energy Companies To Invest In Right Now: National Fuel Gas Company(NFG)

National Fuel Gas Company, through its subsidiaries, operates as a diversified energy company primarily in the United States. The company operates through four segments: Utility, Pipeline and Storage, Exploration and Production, and Energy Marketing. The Utility segment sells natural gas or provides natural gas transportation services to approximately 727,000 customers in Buffalo, Niagara Falls, and Jamestown, New York; and Erie and Sharon, Pennsylvania. The Pipeline and Storage segment provides interstate natural gas transportation and storage services for affiliated and nonaffiliated companies through an integrated gas pipeline system; and 27 underground natural gas storage fields, as well as 4 other underground natural gas storage fields owned and operated jointly with other interstate gas pipeline companies. This segment also transports natural gas for industrial customers and power producers in New York State. It owns the Empire Pipeline, a 157-mile pipeline; and the Empire Connector, which is a 76-mile pipeline extension. The Exploration and Production segment engages in the exploration for, and the development and purchase of natural gas and oil reserves in California, in the Appalachian region of the United States, and in the Gulf Coast region of Texas and Louisiana. As of September 30, 2009, this segment had proved developed and undeveloped reserves of 46,587 thousand barrels of oil and 248,954 million cubic feet equivalent of natural gas. The Energy Marketing segment markets natural gas to industrial, wholesale, commercial, public authority, and residential customers primarily in western and central New York and northwestern Pennsylvania. The company also develops and operates mid-range independent power production and landfill gas electric generation facilities. National Fuel Gas Company was founded in 1902 and is based in Williamsville, New York.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Eric Volkman]

  National Fuel Gas (NYSE: NFG  ) is hewing tightly to tradition with its upcoming shareholder payout. The company has declared a bump in its quarterly dividend, to $0.375 per share. This will be dispensed on July 15 to shareholders of record as of June 28. That amount is 2.7% higher than the firm's previous four distributions of $0.365 apiece, the most recent of which was paid in April. Prior to that, National Fuel Gas handed out $0.355 per share.