Energy

Energy Is Where Investors Send Money ‘to Die' But There Is One Stock to Like in the Space, Trader Says

Employees wait for the arrival of U.S. Vice President Mike Pence, not pictured, at a Diamondback Energy oil rig in Midland, Texas, April 17, 2019.
Callaghan O'Hare | Bloomberg | Getty Images

The S&P energy sector is on track for its best month ever after rallying nearly 40% in November.

But, energy finds no fan in Mark Tepper, president of Strategic Wealth Partners.

"The energy sector has been a place you've really sent your money to die for the last decade. If you go back to like pre-financial crisis, it was like a 15% sector weighting in the S&P. Now it's like 2.5%. It's almost irrelevant," Tepper told CNBC's "Trading Nation" on Tuesday.

Over the past 10 years, as the S&P 500 rallied more than 200%, the XLE energy ETF has plummeted 38%. Two of the sector's largest components, Exxon and Chevron, have also underperformed the broader market.

There is one name that Tepper gives a pass, though.

"If we have to own an energy stock and we do have to own a little, we at least want to get some yield so my favorite name here is Diamondback Energy," he said. "They're a low-cost producer. They're one of the few companies that can actually make money even when oil is below $40 a barrel. They're focused on protecting their dividend which is over 3%, they're cutting costs, they're paying down debts, so they're doing everything we like."

Diamondback Energy is up 148% in the past 10 years. It rallied by as much as 9% in the past week.

Todd Gordon, founder of TradingAnalysis.com, isn't buying the energy bounce, either. He sees the rally as likely a result of short traders covering their positions, which then triggered a cycle that pushes the stocks even higher.

"What happens is selling dries up, people start to get a little nervous, those shorts start to want to get greedy and cover," Gordon said during the same "Trading Nation" segment. "The XLE [energy ETF is up 35%] in November. I mean, that's unbelievable. That smells like short covering; that doesn't sound like new fresh buying interest."

Like Tepper, Gordon does see opportunity in one energy stock in the alternative energy space – Sunrun. Its shares have risen 383% this year.

"Love it. I hold it, I think stick with what works for now," he said.

Disclosure: Strategic Wealth Partners holds FANG. Gordon holds RUN.

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