Three ways to tap rising commodity demand

Article Excerpt

The outlook for a wide range of commodities continues to improve as the world’s economy recovers from the COVID-19 pandemic. The ongoing shift to electric-powered vehicles continues to spur demand for key metals such as copper and nickel. These three leading commodity producers are preparing for the expected increase in demand with acquisitions and big new projects. Those strategies should pay off; however, we prefer mining firms Alcoa and BHP over oil producer APA for your new buying. APA CORP. $32 is a hold. The company (Nasdaq symbol APA; Aggressive Growth Portfolio, Resources sector; Shares outstanding: 301.8 million; Market cap: $9.7 billion; Price-to-sales ratio: 1.2; Dividend yield: 3.1%; TSINetwork Rating: Average; www.apacorp.com) produces oil and natural gas in the U.S. (55% of production), Egypt (35%) and the U.K. (10%). APA’s average daily production in the fourth quarter of 2023 was 414,430 barrels (67% oil and liquids, 33% natural gas), unchanged from a year earlier. However, due to lower oil and gas prices, APA’s revenue fell 12.3%,…