Growth Potential (and a Little Income) in Energy: Halliburton Company (HAL), Apache Corporation (APA)

National-Oilwell Varco, Inc. (NYSE:NOV) slipped 13%. It’s the biggest U.S. maker of oil-field equipment, with my colleague Aimee Duffy pointing out that, “Ninety percent of the world’s rigs have National Oilwell Varco equipment on them.” Some would like to see its profit margins grow more, while others are concerned about a slip in free cash flow. Still, its operations in deepwater drilling are serving it well.

Chesapeake Energy Corporation (NYSE:CHK) dropped 7%, with its biggest recent news being the departure of its controversial CEO, Aubrey McClendon, whose actions in recent years dismayed many investors and led my colleague Alyce Lomax to call the stock “vile.” It has struggled as a huge natural gas player at a time when natural gas prices are very low. (That means prices are likely to rise in coming years, though.) Meanwhile, Chesapeake is selling billions of dollars’ worth of assets and focusing on developing the assets it has while increasing its higher-margin activities. Shares popped on McClendon’s exit, but the company’s future remains a bit murky.

The big picture
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The article Growth Potential (and a Little Income) in Energy originally appeared on Fool.com and is written by Selena Maranjian.

Longtime Fool contributor Selena Maranjian, whom you can follow on Twitter, has no position in any stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool recommends Halliburton and National Oilwell Varco. The Motley Fool owns shares of Apache and has the following options: Long Jan 2014 $20 Calls on Chesapeake Energy, Long Jan 2014 $30 Calls on Chesapeake Energy, and Short Jan 2014 $15 Puts on Chesapeake Energy.

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