National Oilwell Varco, the largest supplier of oilfield equipment, appears on an MSN Money list of recommended stocks. Here are StockScouter's best investment ideas.
Democrats and Republicans agree that any momentum behind legislation that would tighten safety standards for offshore oil and gas drilling and remove a liability cap for oil spills was snuffed out by last month's midterm elections.
But that hasn't halted National Oilwell Varco (NOV, news, msgs) from developing and touting its technology, which is used in blowout preventers, valves, containment devices and other oil and natural-gas drilling equipment for land and sea, in the United States and around the world.
Drilling contractors have been taking a hard look at safety equipment since the blowout on the Deepwater Horizon rig in the Gulf of Mexico last spring. The explosion killed 11 workers and unleashed a months-long gusher that grew into the nation's biggest offshore oil spill.
National Oilwell appears on a daily list created using StockScouter, an MSN Money tool that identifies stocks with strong growth prospects in the near term. All stocks with Scouter ratings of 8, 9 or 10 are considered for the list, which is then shortened to exclude stocks with a trading volume below 50,000 shares a day. The remaining stocks are ranked on the basis of market capitalization, sector membership and whether they are growth or value stocks.
Offshore drilling
National Oilwell in August unveiled new shear ram technology for its blowout preventer unit that officials said employs blades capable of quickly slicing through a steel pipe at its thickest joint and stopping an eruption of oil or gas in a blowout.
The company expects to find robust sales for the stronger, more-energy-efficient rams and similar safety equipment, but regulatory uncertainty means the market has been slow to materialize, the Houston Chronicle reported. Msn.Video.createWidget('PlayerAd1Container', 'PlayerAd', 300, 213, {"configCsid": "MSNmoney", "configName": "player-money-articles-16x9", "player.vcq": "videoByUuids.aspx?uuids=359535b2-1042-4296-85d4-34f6e5ba0513,438acc60-1dab-4610-9eb8-63940bf88ece,c89eb02b-9112-4a23-ae35-0fd5b5cff7f9,8dc0a39b-fb35-4204-9de6-08708adab5c6,4dc7d310-a366-4e77-8ec2-51ded0d872b0,7d6121a6-96dd-4c83-8eb0-04a77c0320b1,12804105-f742-4606-8aab-fe0eecc9962b", "player.fr": "iv2_en-us_money_article_16x9-FindHotStocks-StockScouter"}, 'PlayerAd1');Msn.Video.createWidget('Gallery4Container', 'Gallery', 304, 150, {"configCsid": "MSNmoney", "configName": "gallery-money-articles", "gallery.linkbackLocation": "bottom_left", "gallery.numColsGrid": "3", "gallery.categoryRequests": "videoByUuids.aspx?uuids=359535b2-1042-4296-85d4-34f6e5ba0513,438acc60-1dab-4610-9eb8-63940bf88ece,c89eb02b-9112-4a23-ae35-0fd5b5cff7f9,8dc0a39b-fb35-4204-9de6-08708adab5c6,4dc7d310-a366-4e77-8ec2-51ded0d872b0,7d6121a6-96dd-4c83-8eb0-04a77c0320b1,12804105-f742-4606-8aab-fe0eecc9962b;videoByTag.aspx%3Ftag%3Dmoney_dispatch%26ns%3DMSNmoney_Gallery%26mk%3Dus%26vs%3D1;videoByTag.aspx%3Ftag%3Dbest%2520of%2520money%26ns%3DMSNmoney_Gallery%26mk%3Dus%26vs%3D1"}, 'Gallery4');One area of ambiguity was resolved this month, though not to the oil industry's liking: The Obama administration reversed itself on Dec. 1 and pledged not to pursue offshore drilling in the eastern Gulf of Mexico or anywhere along the nation's Atlantic Coast for at least five years, saying it was heeding the lessons of BP's (BP, news, msgs) spill in the Gulf last spring.
Much of National Oilwell's growth is likely to come from its close ties to Brazil's Petrobras (PBR, news, msgs), the Rio de Janeiro company that is a leader in deep-water exploration and production. The company is responsible for about 25% of the world's deep-sea operations. Petrobras recently said it expects to add 63 deep-water rigs by 2018 to develop so-called pre-salt fields in the Atlantic Ocean off Brazil's coast; the areas could hold the equivalent of 50 billion barrels of oil.
Among the 24 analysts covering National Oilwell Varco, 18 rate the stock a "strong buy," two have "moderate buy" ratings and four rate it a "hold."
The stock has a StockScouter rating of 10, meaning it's expected to significantly outperform the market over the next six months with average risk.
StockScouter top 10CompanySectorFriday's closeForward P/EScouter score
Barrick Gold (ABX, news, msgs)
Gold mining
$54.00
14.5
10
National Oilwell Varco (NOV, news, msgs)
Oil-drilling equipment
$63.00
16.9
10
AT&T (T, news, msgs)
Telecommunications
$28.49
11.4
9
Exxon Mobil (XOM, news, msgs)
Oil and natural gas
$71.19
11.1
9
América Móvil (AMX, news, msgs)
Telecommunications
$57.26
13.6
9
Yamana Gold (AUY, news, msgs)
Gold mining
$12.53
16.2
9
Schlumberger (SLB, news, msgs)
Oil-field services
$82.74
21.7
9
Union Pacific (UNP, news, msgs)
Railroads
$94.55
14.6
9
Verizon Communications (VZ, news, msgs)
Telecommunications
$32.90
14.5
9
Freeport-McMoRan Copper & Gold (FCX, news, msgs)
Copper and gold
$108.95
10.8
9
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Find the best broker for youJubak: Don't run away from opportunities 5 funds the bad market couldn't touchIndex funds becoming harder to beatJubak: JPMorgan leads the free-money packRate this Article Click on one of the stars below to rate this article from 1 (lowest) to 5 (highest). LowThank you for rating.UGR('ratCntrl')High var avgRating=0;avgRating=6.374358; if(avgRating!=0){avgRating=avgRating/2;avgRating=Math.round(avgRating*100)/100;var sDisplayText="Average rating: " + avgRating + " from ";var usersCount=7597;sDisplayText = sDisplayText + usersCount;if (usersCount==1)sDisplayText=sDisplayText + " user";else sDisplayText=sDisplayText + " users";avgRatingElem=document.getElementById("averageRating");avgRatingElem.innerText=sDisplayText;} View all top-rated articlesE-mail us your comments on this article Discuss in a message board Cool ToolsNew Investor CenterMarket DispatchesTop Stocks blogTop-Rated StocksResearch StocksFast AnswersDecision CentersFind Hot StocksInvesting For IncomeMutual FundsPower ToolsReal EstateSimple StrategiesStocks to WatchSchlumbergerBig LotsBank of AmericaYamana GoldAppleApollo GroupArcelorMittalCypress SemiconductorFund data provided by Morningstar, Inc. © 2009. All rights reserved.StockScouter data provided by Gradient Analytics, Inc.Quotes supplied by Interactive Data.MSN Money's editorial goal is to provide a forum for personal finance and investment ideas. Our articles, columns, message board posts and other features should not be construed as investment advice, nor does their appearance imply an endorsement by Microsoft of any specific security or trading strategy. An investor's best course of action must be based on individual circumstances.Msn.Video.createWidget('Gallery8Container', 'Gallery', 500, 230, {"configCsid": "MSNmoney", "configName": "gallery-money-article-site-wide"}, 'Gallery8'); 106CommentsNewestOldestBestWorstControversial of 6 Finest On Road Daily11/22/2010 11:41 AM every one needs to run out and buy Gov Mot stock so they can rip you off like they did the original stock & bond holders 0 0ReportSpamgrtytsrk11/22/2010 9:38 AM Always someone telling you where to put your money, yada,yada YARP! LOL 0 0ReportSpamHowdy Doody (frankit2) 11/21/2010 9:48 PMWhat worries me the most, I heard Tiger borrowed 25 million for a new house. If he cannot make the payments, what will his 19 sweeties do? I doubt is Elin will let them stay on the yacht. Oh well, I hope Elin invites me on the yacht, if so maybe Tiger will baby sit for us.. Just think, if Tiger wins "another 60 touraments he will have caught up with Sam Snead, Sam won about 140 touraments world wide, about 60 more than Jack Nicholas. Sam was and always will be the greatest golfer of all time. 0 0ReportSpamHowdy Doody (frankit2) 11/21/2010 9:42 PMPersonally, I think the best stock is Herfords. 0 0ReportSpamHowdy Doody (frankit2) 11/21/2010 9:38 PMI D O's, A ME GO 0 0ReportSpamHowdy Doody (frankit2) 11/21/2010 9:37 PMHowdy. 0 0ReportSpamsemo happy11/21/2010 8:48 PMOne of my favorite recent pickups is chimera... picked it up at 3.85 and its set up for nearly 18% yield!!! 0 0ReportSpamsemo happy11/21/2010 8:46 PMThanks for all the free advice that the street puts out... Ive been tuned in to several of their free email alerts and am very pleased to say that my portfolio has returned 29% over the last quarter alone!!! I couldnt be more appreciative!!! 0 0ReportSpamDano8811/21/2010 8:31 PMInvesting is only gambling when it becomes speculation and there is a difference. Yes the market is tilted toward the big boys, however, money still can be made by us if we take the time to educate ourselves and be aware of our own tendencies for fear and greed, because these two factors will get us into the most trouble. I follow Warren Buffet's strategy of selling into uphoria and buying into fear. In essence I'm sort of a market timer trying to catch at least 2/3 of the upside. Done well on the cloud computing sector lately and am looking for another entry point. AKAM, CTXS, CRM, FFIV, VMW, NTAP, APKT, BMC, RVBD, and RNOW
1 0ReportSpamDuken4evr11/21/2010 7:05 PMStockscouter's picks are computer generated. That is what is good about it. 1 0ReportSpamsugarhousefarm11/21/2010 1:01 PM
I purchased American Capital, at 77 cents per share long before Paulson bought his 43 million shares at 5.06 per. Stock now trading at 7.44
Also purchased Newcastle at 1.50, now trading at 5.72! Five Great Quarters of Making Profits
CO
1 0ReportSpamWS6 Trans Am11/21/2010 10:41 AMYes the stock market is legalized gambling. You buy a share with the hopes of it going up and you making money. You put a quarter in the slot hoping to win 2 or more quarters back.
I love how MSN money suggests companies that didnt lose much value when the economy took a dump and claim they will be good investments. Maybe if you dont want to lose your money but if you want to make money you need to buy the stocks that declined the most from the recession. Which stock do you think has a better chance of doubling in the next 5 years Walt Disney Company or Standard Pacific? If you really want to make money buying homebuilders right now is the way to go. BUY LOW SELL HIGH buying Apple at its all time high makes no sense. You are destined to lose money on it when the stock price rights itself and it goes down to closer match where it should be. Standard Pacific is around $4 a share and peaked at $100 a few years ago. When the housing market turns around this stock could easily incfrease 10 fold. Something Disney, Apple, Google, AT&T, GE wont do.
1 0ReportSpamKWS193711/20/2010 2:57 PMHaving luck with ERF! Made $67K this week.
Good Luck,
KWS1937
1 2ReportSpamdharmabum111/20/2010 1:17 PMLynn X. Way to go!! I looked, watched AAPL last year, but never pulled the trigger. Boy, I wished I had. Hindsight is 20/20. Congrats. 0 0ReportSpamLynn X11/15/2010 7:29 PM I purchased Apple when you first recommended it back in March then added some more shares later. It has turned out to be my best money making stock at the present time having 400 shares, thanks for recommending it MSN Money staff. Apple has continued to go up as of November 15, 2010. I am up $35,538.00 on Apple alone.Lynn X
0 0ReportSpamalwaysamazed11/15/2010 2:35 PMAT&T (T), the old SW Bell :) should be on the list. Dividends and the very strong push of AT&T U-Verse should get them back in every home eventually. AT&T is still the built-in 3G way to go with the Apple IPAD....who wants to carry another device to have mobile access like Verizon requires???
Apple.....Macbook Air = Awesome
IPAD = Magical :) you know you want one too :)....they could always bring back "unlimited 3G" or maybe, just maybe 4G
Microsoft has a lot of catch-up and listening to do. How in the world did FACEBOOK trump them?? Gates predicted it then failed to produce. Is it because every thinks of MSFT as a "business" company and not so much "personal"?? Well changes are coming in MSFT "live" services but it might be too late to catch up the popularity?? Even giving it away doesn't seem to help much........ Too bad the "Live" idea didn't surface and get developed years ago.
0 0ReportSpamRichardW10111/15/2010 1:39 PMMy portfolio has increased over 20% this year on picks like CAT, SLV, Joy Global, Freeport Mcmoran and others. The only stock I have that is under water is GE. So gambling? Maybe. But the ten stocks in this article are not investments I would make now. 0 0ReportSpamLivonianman11/15/2010 12:56 PMway too late to buy APPLE, GOOGLE, INTEL or GOLD and who in their right mind would buy a bank stock with this foreclosure mess. MICROSOFT is a joke, it never moves no matter how much they sell. I've been in utilities for the last two years making 5 % on dividends while the stock price goes up too. buy T, CNP and LG. Stay away from VZ, they can't sustain the dividend with what they owe VODAPHONE. 1 1ReportSpamMktTrader11/14/2010 10:50 AMwhen people begin to realize that the only reason these stocks and many others, such as Apple, are only making a profit because of "slave labor" , anyone remember when the garment industry took a hit when the labor practices became front page news?
When people start jumping off buildings to their death to protest "Wages, working conditions", we need to look closer at what we are willing to do to make money!!!
1 1ReportSpamPhil Goldy11/10/2010 2:16 PMLuckily I have bought several of these companies stocks recently. They are a very strong group, how though can I buy Google when it would cost so much!! 0 0ReportSpam of 6 Add a commentReportPlease help us to maintain a healthy and vibrant community by reporting any illegal or inappropriate behavior. If you believe a message violates theCode of ConductPlease use this form to notify the moderators. They will investigate your report and take appropriate action. If necessary, they report all illegal activity to the proper authorities.CategoriesSpamChild pornography or exploitationProfanity, vulgarity or obscenityCopyright infringementHarassment or threatThreats of suicideOtherAdditional comments(optional) 100 character limitAre you sure you want to delete this comment? var initData = {"partnerId":"54bd59b2-6179-4753-ac3f-009a75d55388","jsUrl":null,"strings":{"lc_shw":"true","lc_dtf":"%M/dd/yyyy %h:mm tt","lc_dtf2":"ddd %h:mm tt","lc_gmt":"-5","lc_erg":"Comments are currently unavailable. Try again later.","lc_det":"Comments are unavailable on this page.","lc_pgf":"{0} of {1}","lc_1ach":"Comment","lc_ach":"Comments","lc_newm":"Newest","lc_oldm":"Oldest","lc_bestm":"Best","lc_worstm":"Worst","lc_mixedm":"Controversial","lc_prv":"Previous page","lc_nxt":"Next page","lc_pageNumTooltip":"Enter a page number, and then press the Enter key","lc_first":"First page","lc_last":"Last page","lc_rpl":"Reply","lc_rbs":"Report","lc_edt":"Edit","lc_del":"Delete","lc_pstthanks":"Thanks for posting to","lc_pstand":"{0} and {1}","lc_seemore":"See more . . . ","lc_seeless":"See less . . .","lc_rpttxt":"Thank you for reporting.","lc_msg2mod":"Send note to moderator . . .","lc_cc0":"Please help us to maintain a healthy and vibrant community by reporting any illegal or inappropriate behavior. If you believe a message violates the","lc_cc1":"Code of Conduct","lc_cc2":"Please use this form to notify the moderators. They will investigate your report and take appropriate action. If necessary, they report all illegal activity to the proper authorities.","lc_cat":"Categories","lc_spa":"Spam","lc_che":"Child pornography or exploitation","lc_pro":"Profanity, vulgarity or obscenity","lc_cor":"Copyright infringement","lc_har":"Harassment or threat","lc_usrpic":"Inappropriate user picture","lc_oth":"Other","lc_abc":"Additional comments","lc_opt":"(optional)","lc_atl":"100 character limit","lc_rep":"Report","lc_1hourm":"1 hour ago","lc_1minm":"1 minute ago","lc_recomm":"You recommend this","lc_recomdontm":"You don\u0027t recommend this","lc_voted":"You have voted on this","lc_suicide":"Threats of suicide","lc_joi":"Be the first to comment","lc_shwm":"Show comments","lc_hidem":"Hide comments","lc_hourm":"{0} hMuch of National Oilwell's growth is likely to come from its close ties to Brazil's Petrobras (PBR, news, msgs), the Rio de Janeiro company that is a leader in deep-water exploration and production. The company is responsible for about 25% of the world's deep-sea operations. Petrobras recently said it expects to add 63 deep-water rigs by 2018 to develop so-called pre-salt fields in the Atlantic Ocean off Brazil's coast; the areas could hold the equivalent of 50 billion barrels of oil.
Among the 24 analysts covering National Oilwell Varco, 18 rate the stock a "strong buy," two have "moderate buy" ratings and four rate it a "hold."
The stock has a StockScouter rating of 10, meaning it's expected to significantly outperform the market over the next six months with average risk.
StockScouter top 10CompanySectorFriday's closeForward P/EScouter score
Barrick Gold (ABX, news, msgs)
Gold mining
$54.00
14.5
10
National Oilwell Varco (NOV, news, msgs)
Oil-drilling equipment
$63.00
16.9
10
AT&T (T, news, msgs)
Telecommunications
$28.49
11.4
9
Exxon Mobil (XOM, news, msgs)
Oil and natural gas
$71.19
11.1
9
América Móvil (AMX, news, msgs)
Telecommunications
$57.26
13.6
9
Yamana Gold (AUY, news, msgs)
Gold mining
$12.53
16.2
9
Schlumberger (SLB, news, msgs)
Oil-field services
$82.74
21.7
9
Union Pacific (UNP, news, msgs)
Railroads
$94.55
14.6
9
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