Buffett keeps buying more Occidental. Here's the buy the dip case for energy stocks

Published Tue, Jun 28 20229:46 AM EDT

Energy stocks have come under withering pressure in June amid a broader market rout and mounting recession fears, and Berkshire Hathaway's Warren Buffett is among those buying the dip. The conglomerate bought an additional $44 million in Occidental stock on June 23, according to a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The purchase brings Berkshire's total stake in Occidental to 153.5 million shares, valued at just over $9 billion, based on the stock's closing price Monday. Shares of Occidental are down 17% over the past month, but have almost doubled so far in 2022. The performance is a more extreme version of the broader energy sector's returns. The group is hovering around a bear market — down 19.5% from the June 8 high — but it's still the only sector in the green year to date. Experts say part of the reason for the recent fall is that investors have had to sell winners — energy stocks — in order to cover losses elsewhere. Credit Suisse is among the firms that believe the current pullback is an attractive entry point. "While we do understand recession concerns, unless we see a global recession that has a severe impact on demand, we believe the setup remains very strong and elevated commodity prices will continue to provide earnings tailwind," the firm said Tuesday in a note to clients. Goldman Sachs echoed this point, noting recently that buying each of the prior dips in April, August and November of 2021 yielded strong results. Jeff Currie, the firm's global head of commodities research, told CNBC on Monday that the setup across the energy sector remains "incredibly bullish." Goldman favors ConocoPhillips among super majors and Schlumberger within the energy services sector. West Texas Intermediate crude , the U.S. oil benchmark, is on track for its first down month this year. Still, while the contract has come under pressure, it remains above $110 per barrel. "We continue to believe that in a post Russia-Ukraine conflict world, we are short of crude oil, refined products and natural gas," Credit Suisse noted. In terms of stock impact, the firm favors Exxon and Chevron among integrated players. ConocoPhillips and Chesapeake are among the firm's top upstream picks, while Valero and Marathon Petroleum are attractive refiners. Evercore ISI said looking forward investors should favor large-cap companies with liquid balance sheets and that benefit from passive flows into energy funds. EOG Resources , Diamondback Energy and Exxon are among the names on its list. "Our view remains energy continues to re-weight relative to the market and regains footing based on relative value, rising returns, and relevancy particularly as the structural / multiyear nature of the challenge facing the upstream becomes clearer," the firm said Monday in a note to clients. "Volatility should be expected but the trend remains your friend for now," Evercore added. - CNBC's Michael Bloom and Alex Crippen contributed reporting.