One segment of the stock market is grinning as crude oil flirts with $100 a barrel: initial public offerings of energy companies.
Already last year, the sector was the third-most active area of new U.S. stock listings, with everything from traditional gas and oil producers to pipeline operators to alternative-energy investments. Bankers said they expect a similar wide swath of deals this year.
"There is still very good internal and acquisition-growth potential for many energy companies," said Joe Morea, head of U.S. equity capital markets at Royal Bank of Canada's RBC Capital Markets.
He predicted the calendar of new energy-related stocks in 2008 will be vibrant even if oil prices cast a pall on broader IPO issuance.
Among the deals already queued up for this year are a host of midstream energy companies, which primarily operate pipelines to transport oil and gas in the U.S. Many were created by larger energy conglomerates and are structured as limited partnerships, which result in an additional tax filing onus for investors but deliver healthy dividends of 7% or more.
Expected to price in the coming months on the New York Stock Exchange are offerings from Williams Pipeline Partners LP, formed by Williams Cos. and seeking to raise as much as $340 million; Western Gas Partners LP, formed by Anadarko Petroleum Corp. and which has filed to raise $450 million; and NiSource Energy Partners LP, formed by NiSource Inc. and aiming to raise $300 million.
Similar midstream partnerships that made their debut in 2007 were aggressively priced and often started out with so-so returns. However, they made steady gains as the year wore on. El Paso Pipeline Partners LP rose just 5% on its first trading day in November, yet it ended the year up 25%; Quicksilver Gas Services LP spent its first day of trading flat in August before ending the year up 19%; Targa Resources Partners LP rose 13% at its debut in February and closed 2007 up 41%.
Overall, energy-related IPOs weren't notable for their first-day performances last year: The 30 stocks that debuted averaged a first-day gain of 8%. The average first-day rise for all IPOs last year was 11%, according to research firm Renaissance Capital's IPOhome.com.
But two of the 2007's five best-performing new listings were energy-related issues: Chinese solar-cell companies JA Solar Holdings Co. more than quadrupled from its IPO price through the end of the year, and Yingli Green Energy Holding Co. more than tripled, according to IPOhome.com.
The energy sector's hottest segment is likely to be companies that provide high-end exploration services, such as contract test-drillers and seismic-imaging firms, said Simon Rose, chief executive of Dahlman Rose, an investment bank that specializes in energy and shipping deals. Seismic companies perform three-dimensional studies on oil and gas properties to examine reserves prior to drilling.
But don't look for an immediate flood of IPOs from this niche soon. "The smart money has been buying them and taking them private," Mr. Rose said.