No B.S. by Barron's

Back on February 24, I noted a Barron's story that feted oil companies that had interest in the Bakken Shale on the Canada-U.S. border. Not very big on this kind of stuff, I decided to start a mock folio to keep track.

Here we are, more than four months later, and four of the five stocks noted by Barrons are in the black since.

WLL | then 59 | now 102 | +72%
EOG | then 100 | now 119 | +18%
BEXP | then 7.13 | now 16.04 | +125%
CLR | then 25 | now 81 | +225%
MRO | then 51 | now 45 | -11%

Overall, on a weighted basis, this quintet of oil stocks are up a nice 86%. Amazing. Meanwhile, here in Hawaii, I paid $4.31 for a gallon of regular unleaded. That's the cheapest I found in urban Honolulu, aside from Costco.

Barron's was right

You could hate Barron's. I know I have. But they were right about the oil companies that have their toes in the Bakken Shale near the Canadian border. Since Barron's ran its story a few months back, four of the five stocks are up significantly.

WLL
then: 59
now: 77
+ 30%

EOG
then: 100
now: 135
+35%

BEXP
then: 7.13
now: 9.22
+29%

CLR
then: 25
now: 45
+79%

MRO
then: 51
now: 46
-10%

The numbers don't lie.

Oil stocks steady in rough market seas

Frankly, I'm not a big fan of Barron's, but their call on oil stocks last week remains a dead-on winner. Here's how their five oil stocks, all with ties to the Bakken Shale of North Dakota, have fared. Below, the opening price on Monday, Feb. 25, and today's closing price.

WLL | 59.49 | 60.97 | +2.5%
EOG | 100.27 | 122.17 | +21.8%
BEXP | 7.13 | 8.01 | +12.3%
CLR | 25.05 | 28.57 | +14.1%
MRO | 51.54 | 53.81 | +4.4%

On a weighted scale, these stocks are up 11% in six sessions since Barron's ran the story. In a tumultuous market, that's black gold.

Oil stocks still gushing

Chalk up another brilliant day for oil stocks. Barron's listed five over the weekend and four were up today. For the week thus far, all five are up at least 4.1%. EOG had the biggest lift today, surging 18%, after announcing a strong production forecast. All five have their feet in North Dakota's Bakken Shale. Here's a look at how each stock has fared, with Monday's opening price and today's closing price.

WLL | 59.49 | 61.95 | +4.1%
EOG | 100.27 | 124.73 | +24.4%
BEXP | 7.13 | 8.09 | +13.5%
CLR | 25.05 | 28.98 | +15.7%
MRO | 51.54 | 54.15 | +5.1%

On the whole, a weighted scale of these stocks gives the five a net gain of 12.6%. In a bear market.

Barron's effect juiced by crude behavior

Over the weekend, Barron's got bullish on oil stocks with ties to the Bakken Shale of North Dakota. With crude oil near 102, Barron's timing could not be better. Here's how each of the five stocks have done since Monday's open, with closing prices on Tuesday and today.

Whiting Petroleum (WLL) | 59.49 | 60.85 | 60.97
EOG Resources (EOG) | 100.27 | 108.23 | 105.68
Brigham Exploration (BEXP) | 7.13 | 7.28 | 7.38
Continental Resources (CLR) | 25.05 | 25.83 | 28.10
Marathon Oil (MRO) | 51.54 | 53.43 | 54.36

Barron's likes oil

Dudes named Eli tend to be pretty smart. Take Eli Hoffman of Seeking Alpha, for example. The SA editor posted Barron's five promising oil stocks over the weekend. Here they are with Monday's opening price and Tuesday's closing price.

Whiting Petroleum (WLL) | 59.49 | 60.85
EOG Resources (EOG) | 100.27 | 108.23
Brigham Exploration (BEXP) | 7.13 | 7.28
Continental Resources (CLR) | 25.05 | 25.83
Marathon Oil (MRO) | 51.54 | 53.43

More about oil in North Dakota's Bakken Shale in the New York Times.

Good luck drilling, boys.