Third Quarter Sees Many Oklahoma Stocks Rise Reports PennyStocksHub.com

San Francisco, CA -- (SBWIRE) -- 10/08/2012 -- The lion’s share of Oklahoma stocks ended the third quarter with higher prices, with several seeing significant gains.

Here is a brief rundown of the top three companies:

Gulfport Energy: +51.5%

LSB Industries: +41.9%

Compressco Partners: +35.7%

Reflecting trends in the broader market, most Oklahoma-based firms saw gains in spite of a volatile end to the quarter. More than five state stocks rose in price for each one that decreased in value during the period.

Meanwhile, the Dow, S&P 500 and Nasdaq were up by more than 4% for the quarter. Up by roughly 10%, the Dow has risen to pre-2008 market collapse levels.

“As bad the start of the year was, the third quarter made up for it,” Tulsa money manager Jake Dollarhide said Friday. “There was a lot less noise out of Europe, a lot less negative sentiment about the U.S. economy. With less noise, the profits and the big opportunities, especially for our local companies, got heard. Investors were able to digest some of the potential.”

Regardless of losses in the last days of trading, “we had a heck of a good quarter and month for stocks, beyond what anyone thought,” said Stuart Hoffman, chief economist at PNC Financial Services Group.

Here is a closer look at the performances of the top three companies:

The local company with the greatest gains, Gulfport Energy Corp. increased more than 50%, with its stock closing Friday at $31.26. That number marked a $10.63 increase over the price at the end of the second quarter.

Gulfport has focused on oil and natural gas liquid production for some time, while many other Oklahoma energy companies have attempted to reduce their production of natural gas, which fetches a lower price. During a recent investor presentation, Gulfport noted that 94% of its production in the previous year was oil and natural gas liquids.

“Gulfport Energy differentiates themselves from better-known energy stocks like Devon and Williams because oil's been the play,” said Dollarhide, CEO of Longbow Asset Management.

“They were in the sweet spot with the heavy concentration of oil. They're in the right footprint.”

Several weeks ago, Gulfport’s stock price saw a hike of 10% in one day after the company issued a positive production report from the Utica Shale.

LSB Industries CEO Jack Golsen said the strong quarterly performance of shares in his firm, an Oklahoma City company that produces chemicals and climate control devices, had little to do with current or recent activity.

“It's our potential,” Golsen said. “It's certainly isn't our performance this year, because we had an explosion at one of our plants and that's caused a dip in our earnings. People look at what our potential is and what our plans are. They understand where we're going.”

LSB investors saw their stake increase 41.9% in the third quarter. The shares closed at $43.87, which was up from $30.91 at the close of the previous quarter.

Investors seem positive about LSB’s prospects, especially when it comes to chemical production, said Golsen. “I think that they're looking at that potential business for 2013,” he said. “The market looks very strong.”

Golsen added that the climate control business remains fairly flat, reflecting a sluggish level of construction spending.

Relative Oklahoma newcomer Compressco Partners LP bounced back from a 28% decline in the second quarter and post a 35.7% gain.

The company, which manufactures and sells compressors designed to increase natural gas and oil well production, Compressco went public in mid-2011.

A promising earnings report prompted Raymond James to upgrade the company’s shares and place an $18 price target on the stock, which closed Friday at $16.83.

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