Tim Bovee, Private Trader: Tuesday's Finalists: CLR, WLL, ENR

Tuesday, August 26, 2014

Tuesday's Finalists: CLR, WLL, ENR

Three symbols from Monday's markets, all bull signals, made it to the final decision point.

Two are in the fossil fuels business, Continental Resources (CLR) in Oklahoma and Whiting Petroleum (WLL) in Colorado. The third, Energizer Holdings (ENR) in Missouri, makes batteries and personal care products.

Out of the 20 symbols that survived my first round of analysis (see "Tuesday's Prospects"), three failed confirmation by moving back within their 20-day price channels: HMY, GG and AVY.

One, a bear signal, showed insufficient momentum to support a trade, and the rest had charts that were insufficiently bullish, despite having given bull signals.

Of the three finalists, only WLL has broken out to a higher high, eclipsing the peak set in July. The other two are approaching breakout from the summer doldrums but haven't achieved it yet.

WLL has a bullish rating from Zacks Investment Research, the service I use to short-cut my fundamental analysis. The other two are rated neutral.

Downside: WLL has the lowest liquidity of the three, with volume running about 90,000 shares a day. And none of the three has options sufficiently liquid to allow me to do leveraged and hedged trades.

So, decision time.

I'm heavily exposed to the oil business in my longer-term holdings, as dividend plays. Neither CLR nor WLL pays a dividend. I simply don't need more oils, so I set them aside.

I intend to post an analysis of ENR prior to the closing bell. Despite the neutral rating, it has a bullish chart and pays a 1.64% dividend. Besides, remember the Energizer Bunny?

-- Tim Bovee, Portland, Oregon, Aug. 26, 2014

References

My shorter-term trading rules can be read here. My longer-term trading rules can be read here. And the classic Turtle Trading rules on which my rules are based can be read here.

Disclaimer

Tim Bovee, Private Trader tracks the analysis and trades of a private trader for his own accounts. Nothing in this blog constitutes a recommendation to buy or sell stocks, options or any other financial instrument. The only purpose of this blog is to provide education and entertainment.

No trader is ever 100 percent successful in his or her trades. Trading in the stock and option markets is risky and uncertain. Each trader must make trading decisions for his or her own account, and take responsibility for the consequences.