Oil prices are rebounding from their recent dip, driven by unprecedented demand and OPEC’s limited-supply policies. Furthermore, U.S. implied petroleum products demand recently rose to a record high, and uncertainties related to the Fed’s monetary policies were removed. All this bodes well for Southwestern Energy (SWN) and PDC Energy (NASDAQ:PDCE). But which of these stocks is a better choice now? Read more to learn more.Southwestern Energy Company (NYSE:SWN) is a Houston, Tex.-based independent energy company that explores for, develops, and produces natural gas, oil, and natural gas liquids (NGLs). The company focuses on developing unconventional natural gas and oil reservoirs in Pennsylvania, Ohio, and West Virginia. Denver, Colo.-based PDC Energy, Inc. (PDCE) is also an independent exploration and production company that acquires, explores for, develops, and produces crude oil, natural gas, and natural gas liquids.
Oil and gas prices rose to multi-year highs this year, driven by solid demand amid supply cuts. As of December 15, gasoline prices had risen 58.1% over the last year, their largest increase since April 1980. In addition, fuel oil prices increased 59.3%, while natural gas prices rose 25.1% over the past year.
According to the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA), U.S. implied petroleum products demand rose to a record 23.191 million bpd for the week ending December 10. Oil prices rose approximately 2% yesterday on the EIA’s report and Fed’s interest-rate-increase timeline, removing some uncertainties. Given the upbeat backdrop, we think oil and gas companies PDCE and SWN should benefit. Over the past nine months, PDCE’s stock has gained 22.8% in price, while SWN has returned 5.1%. In terms of their past year’s performance, PDCE is the winner with 139.3% gains versus SWN’s 48.2%. Also, PDCE’s 125.8% gains year-to-date compare with SWN’s 52.7% returns.