| TOP PICK | 38.450 | Adam Thomas | Being acquired by Marathon (MRO-N). He is buying it for the sum of the parts of the valuation. Basically what you are getting with the Marathon take out is cash and about 33% of stock. You also get a junior international exploreco, Western Zagros in Kurdistan, where there are significant light oil deposits. Market is not fully valuing this company. | 2007-10-05 | |
| Comment | 39.130 | Norman Levine | Being acquired by Marathon (MRO-N). If you are looking to buy for long-term capitalization, don't do it. | 2007-10-02 | |
| HOLD | 39.010 | Paul Harris, CFA | Being acquired by Marathon (MRO-N). Being in oil sands play is one of the more important things in this country. Key, long life assets. | 2007-09-27 | |
| HOLD | 38.700 | Brendan Kyne | Because of the royalty issues in Alberta, this would be a hold until it is know what is going to happen. | 2007-09-24 | |
| BUY | 36.600 | Stephen Carlin | Marathon Oil (MRO-N) has made an offer to acquire. Part of the deal was for them to spin off their Kurdistan assets. Stock has been trading at a premium to the offer that could mean the market thinks a higher bid is coming or if the market is ascribing more value to the Kurdistan asset than originally thought. He feels it is the latter. Be surprised to see a competing offer come in. | 2007-08-21 | |
| Comment | 36.600 | John Stephenson | Marathon Oil (MRO-N) has made an offer for this company. Strong likelihood that there will be another bidder. | 2007-08-21 | |
| PAST TOP PICK | 37.870 | Jean-Francois Tardif | (A Top Pick Aug 8/06. Up 41.6%.) Subject of a takeover right now and he doesn't expect another bid. Sold his holdings. | 2007-08-07 | |
| Comment | 37.780 | Peter Brieger | Prefers UTS Energy (UTS-T). Possibility of a takeover by Marathon (MRO-N). | 2007-08-03 | |
| HOLD | 37.500 | Veronika Hirsch | Marathon Oil (MRO-N) is looking to acquire this company. Not sure if there will be any further bids, but she is holding her stocks. | 2007-08-01 | |
| BUY | 37.000 | Ben Cheng | Could be an acquisition target going forward. | 2007-07-23 | |
| PAST TOP PICK | 36.150 | Jean-Francois Tardif | (A Top Pick Aug 8/06. Up 37.9%.) Sold his holdings because of rumours of a takeover when the stock jumped. Stock is the longer cheap. | 2007-07-16 | |
| DON'T BUY | 35.790 | Bill Harris | This is 20% of Shell’s oil sands project. Has terrific leverage to doubling its production over time. Little worried that the stock is moving up on rumour. | 2007-06-25 | |
| BUY on WEAKNESS | 36.910 | Michael Decter | Rose dramatically on rumours of a takeover by Total. If you are patient, it could come off a little further. | 2007-06-20 | |
| DON'T BUY | 34.420 | Bill Carrigan | Don't add position. Not too excited about it.
| 2007-06-13 | |
| HOLD | 37.800 | John Stephenson | A takeover target. Fairly valued at this stage. | 2007-06-06 | |
| BUY | 38.720 | Peter Brieger | They've put themselves up for sale. ($41 or $42)
If your a trader go and buy some, it will disappear.
They don't buy for takeover though. | 2007-06-04 | |
| Comment | 37.750 | Bill Harris | Oil sands category, international money coming in. Not in control of their own destiny, so he likes Suncor better. In terms of a growth project, it's one of the best. | 2007-05-31 | |
| HOLD | 34.900 | Veronika Hirsch | Likes this company. Sooner or later, someone is going to want to take the company over, so stick with it. Doesn't see a lot of upside for the stock. | 2007-04-18 | |
| DON'T BUY | 32.810 | Norman Levine | Not a favourite. For oil sands plays, he would rather own Canadian Oil Sands (COS.UN-T) or Suncor (SU-T). There is a lot of speculative buying hoping for a takeover. | 2007-02-12 | |
| BUY | 30.300 | Joseph Schachter | Feels that tar sands stocks such as UTS (UTS-T), Canadian Oil Sands (COS.UN-T) and Western Oil Sands (WTO-T) will all do well. If we get to a $70 commodity prices, they will go back to all-time highs. | 2007-01-23 | |
| BUY | 28.990 | Peter Brieger | The short-term attraction is the expectation that it will be taken over. | 2007-01-15 | |
| BUY | 28.500 | Jean-Francois Tardif | If an international company wants to own oil that is geographically safe, there is not much to buy. Expect more takeovers in 2007. He prefers companies that are already producing such as Opti (OPC-T) and Western Oil Sands (WTO-T). | 2007-01-10 | |
| BUY | 29.900 | John Stephenson | You want to be in an oil sands, especially in operating projects such as Western Oil Sands (WTO-T), Suncor (SU-T) or CNQ (CNQ-T). There are a lot that profess to have great potential, but are yet to be proven. | 2007-01-05 | |
| PAST TOP PICK | 32.690 | Jean-Francois Tardif | (A Past Top Pick Aug 8/06. Up 22.6%.) Expects to see more takeovers in the oil sands. Oils could potentially come back to new highs in 07. | 2006-12-27 | |
| WAIT | 32.000 | Bill Harris | If you are an energy investor, you have to have some oil sands. This is a producer with great long-term assets. Had a good run, so wait for a mid-term weakness in the commodity price. | 2006-12-22 | |
| TOP PICK | 31.930 | John Zechner | Doesn’t think this one will be around in 2 years. A natural for a takeover. | 2006-12-12 | |
| DON'T BUY | 29.590 | Gordon Higgins, CA, MBA, CFA | Management acquired some assets in a high-risk area in the Mideast. There is now some concern on the management. | 2006-11-28 | |
| BUY | 30.100 | Michael Decter | There are some issues such as water and cost overruns. The development of oil sands is not without its hurdles. If you’re patient, not a bad speculation. | 2006-11-24 | |
| TOP PICK | 30.700 | John Zechner | Thinks there’s consolidation going on in the sector. Long-lived assets in the ground. Will probably be gone in a couple of years with someone paying a big premium. | 2006-11-08 | |
| DON'T BUY | 25.350 | John Stephenson | Trading at about 40% premium to net asset value, about twice what Suncor (SU-T) is trading at. Richly valued at this point. Investors are concerned about costs overruns they have been seeing. | 2006-08-21 | |
| DON'T BUY | 26.970 | Peter Brieger | Too expensive for him. If you want to be in the oil sands, Petrocan (PCA-T) is a cheaper way to go. Also UTS (UTS-T) would be another choice. | 2006-08-09 | |
| TOP PICK | 26.550 | Jean-Francois Tardif | Price dropped recently because of higher oil sands costs. Likes that they are already producing. Costs will affect future production, but not current production. At current oil prices, they should generate more than $2 per share next year. 10 X free cash flow, so very cheap. | 2006-08-08 | |
| Comment | 27.000 | Ian Nakamoto | Prefers Canadian Oil Sands (COS.UN-T) and doesn't know much about this company. | 2006-08-03 | |
| BUY | 27.090 | Larry Berman CFA, CMT, CTA | Positive on the outlook for energy. Did a couple of things that diversified away from their core area and has been a problem for their stock. At this point, the risk/reward is pretty good. Very strong resistance towards its highs. | 2006-07-24 | |
| VAGUE | 27.000 | Glenn MacNeill, P.Eng. | Hasn’t bounced back like others, as it was fairly expensive. Likes the company. Its principal asset is the 20% interest in the Athabascan Oil Sands project, operated by Shell (SHC-T). Priced with a premium because it was considered vulnerable to a takeover by Shell. | 2006-06-16 | |
| BUY | 32.410 | Jean-Francois Tardif | Dropped when they announced they were going to do some drilling in Iraq. It was such a small amount that it should have had very little bearing on the price of the stock. If you are bullish on oil, buy. | 2006-06-05 | |
| TOP PICK | 29.900 | John Stephenson | In the oil sands. It’s an operating project so there isn't any speculation as to whether it will work or not. Trades at a discount to its peers. Good valuation. | 2006-05-19 | |
| DON'T BUY | 35.880 | Wilf Gobert | The most highly priced of the oil sands smaller independent companies. | 2006-04-25 | |
| BUY | 37.030 | Gavin Graham | Good oil sands play. | 2006-04-11 | |
| DON'T BUY | 34.140 | Peter Brieger | Prefers others. | 2006-04-03 | |
| BUY | 32.540 | John Stephenson | This would be his top pick of the smaller oil plays in the oil sands. | 2006-03-22 | |
| BUY | 32.400 | John Zechner | He likes this stockand has it in his portfolio and is one of their bigger holdings in the oil sector . | 2006-02-22 | |
| BUY | 32.550 | Gavin Graham | Western Oil Sands is a very attractive target. It will probably be taken over in the next 18 months. All oil sands producers are gushing cash. | 2006-02-10 | |
| Comment | 34.860 | Ian Nakamoto | In the oil sands, he prefers Canadian Oil Sands (COS.UN-T). He can't comment in any great detail on this company. | 2006-01-31 | |
| DON'T BUY | 34.800 | Bruce Campbell | In some ways you can look at it and it looks a little bit cheaper. It is still expensive in isolation. It will go up and down with the oil price. Entry point is a little high. | 2006-01-24 | |
| BUY | 33.380 | Glenn MacNeill, P.Eng. | Owns 20% of the oil sands project along with Chevron and Shell. Likes this project. Its costs are being driven down slowly. Could be a takeover. | 2006-01-18 | |
| BUY | 30.850 | Bill MacLachlan | A solid situation. The reserves are there. | 2006-01-10 | |
| HOLD | 26.170 | Peter Brieger | If you are interested in participating in one of the oil sands, this is one of the best ways to play it, but you must have a 3-year view. Have others that he would prefer. | 2005-12-28 | |
| BUY on WEAKNESS | 27.610 | Jonathen Wellum, B. Comm, B. Sc | Prefers the Canadian Oil Sands (CSO.UN-T), which is very similar. The oil sands is a tremendous long-term asset. Buy on weakness. | 2005-12-02 | |
| BUY | 26.720 | Paul Harris, CFA | Likes the oil sands for the long term. If you like energy and want to be in for the long term, this is a great stock to own. | 2005-11-28 | |
| BUY | 28.410 | John Stephenson | As the junior partner to Shell (SHC-T) in developing the Athabaskan oil sands, a good holding for the future. Oil sands should be a core part of your energy portfolio. Trading below some of the start-up enterprises in the oil sands. | 2005-11-07 | |
| HOLD | 26.300 | Bill Harris | A fantastic company. It's 20% of Shell's (SHC-T) project. It was incredibly cheap and his favourite a year and a half ago. Now fairly priced, so doesn't find anything terribly compelling about it. | 2005-10-19 | |
| WEAK BUY | 27.120 | Ron Meisels | Has done exactly like the rest of the oil stocks and is in a correcting phase with the rest of the oils. Should start to find support at around the $20/22 area. Start nibbling here, but be aware that the sell off is not over. | 2005-10-17 | |
| HOLD | 26.340 | John Stephenson | Likes the oil sands and you should have a core holding in it. Trading at a 55/56% premium to its peers, so it's a little over done. | 2005-10-05 | |
| BUY | 28.350 | Paul Harris, CFA | The oil sands is the place to be over the long term. There will be a lot of gyrations in these stocks. At these levels in the price of oil, these prices are very sustainable. | 2005-09-27 | |
| BUY | 28.770 | David Burrows | Any portfolio with energy exposure needs to have oil sands exposure. Likes both Western Oil Sands (WTO-T) and Canadian Oil Sands (COS.UN-T). Use trailing stop losses and continue to ratchet them higher. This lets you hold as long as it continues to climb. | 2005-09-22 | |
| DON'T BUY | 30.200 | Bill Harris | On a relative basis, this stock has the most upside in a real oil sands move. Doesn't find the valuation as compelling. Prefers Suncor (SU-T) which runs a very credible operation and they are in charge of it. Although this company does a good job, Shell (SHC-T) runs the show there. | 2005-09-13 | |
| SELL | 32.200 | John Stephenson | The oil sands should be a core position in any portfolio. According to the Canadian Association of Petroleum Producers, 75% of all oil in Canada will come from the oil sands by 2015. This stock is trading a little bit on the high side at 55% premium to net asset value versus Suncor (SU-T) which is trading at 20/22%.Would move to Suncor. | 2005-09-09 | |
| HOLD | 30.090 | Glenn MacNeill, P.Eng. | Owns 20% of the oil sands project. (20% is owned by Chevron (CVX-N) and 60% by Shell SHC-T.). The project produces about 155,000 barrels a day. Have owned it for a long time now. Anything in the oil sands is very heavily leveraged to oil prices. | 2005-09-02 | |
| BUY | 28.500 | Brendan Kyne | A core holding in a portfolio. Long life reserves. Could potentially be an acquisition candidate. | 2005-08-30 | |
| DON'T BUY | 30.250 | Gordon Higgins, CA, MBA, CFA | Involved in the Athabaskan Tar Sands with Shell (SHC-T) as a partner (60%). Shell has just raised their overrun costs to $7 billion. At the same time, this company has raised it's output forcast. The whole oil sands area is getting a little frothy with speculation on further takeovers. | 2005-08-11 | |
| WAIT | 23.600 | Peter Brieger | In the short term, it is awfully overpriced. Have had some operational problems. On a 3/4 year outlook, it's probably a great buy. Prefers short term prospects at this time. | 2005-06-29 | |
| DON'T BUY | 24.020 | Peter Gibson | Has a negative rate of change in ROE right now. Doesn't rank well in his work. | 2005-06-27 | |
| BUY | 23.620 | John Stephenson | Western Oil Sands (WTO-T), Suncor (SU-T) and Canadian Oil Sands (COS.UN-T) are excellent core holdings for any portfolio. Where we are going in energy in Canada is more and more to unconventional oil/gas, the oil sands. No exploratory risks. Relativey inexpensive on a valuation basis compared to its peers. Trades at about a 20% discount on a forward basis. Recommends it for a long term investment. | 2005-06-21 | |
| BUY | 22.200 | Bob Stodgell | Oil will be a long term investment and you'll probably be just fine with it. Good quality assets. | 2005-06-15 | |
| DON'T BUY | 19.050 | Bill Carrigan | Feels there's a bit of a top being built in these things. You should look at the price of crude. Will there be a rally at the old high? Wait to see if the trend line breaks through the old high. Suspects that it won't because 1) interest rates may have gone too far too fast 2) the price of crude is looking a little bit suspicious. | 2005-06-06 | |
| BUY | 18.750 | Paul Harris, CFA | Loves the oil sands. You can own any one of these companies such as Suncor (SU-T), Canadian Oil Sands (COS.UN-T), etc. A long term issue. | 2005-06-03 | |
| BUY | 53.240 | Gavin Graham | Likes as he thinks the whole oil sands project is going to boom. Oil prices are going to remain high over the long term. Oil will probably settle in at the low $40's for the next couple of months. | 2005-05-16 | |
| BUY | 57.120 | Robert Lyon | Feels that Western Oil Sands is better value with more upside over the next couple of years than Suncor (SU-T). He assesses by looking at the growth opportunites and discounting back. | 2005-05-04 | |
| BUY on WEAKNESS | 55.500 | Michael Sprung | Would be comfortable buying today rather than playing the seasonal aspect. A good company and very well positioned. Weakness today is the result of lower oil prices. In a very volatile energy market at this time. Pick a price on the stocks you really like and let the volatility hit your bid from time to time and accumulate. | 2005-04-28 | |
| BUY | 56.340 | David Taylor, MBA, CFA | Oil sands stocks are very sensitive to the price of oil. Stocks in the oil sands have done exceptionally well. | 2005-04-25 | |
| BUY on WEAKNESS | 55.450 | Bruce Campbell | Prefers CNQ (CNQ-T) which had a 10% difference between the high and the low for the day which is ridiculous. Western Oil Sands being smaller will have even more volatility. Best to pick a price that you want and wait for that price. Don't chase it. | 2005-04-20 | |
| BUY | 54.150 | Mark Jackson, CFA | His #1 pick in the Canadian oil sands. | 2005-04-13 | |
| HOLD | 56.900 | David Burrows | Q: What signs do you look for to see when the correction in the energy sector is over? A: The Canadian oil sands is a strategic investment that every Canadian should have. Would wait for the oil stocks to start outperforming the move in the price of oil. Look for it to trade above a previous high. | 2005-04-12 | |
| BUY on WEAKNESS | 53.310 | John Stephenson | The drop may be a reasonable buying opportunity. Doesn't expect oil prices and values to fall significantly more. For short term, would wait a bit, but long term holds, this is a good entry level. One of the premier names. Prefers Suncor (SU-T). | 2005-03-30 | |
| WEAK BUY | 61.500 | Rick Rule | If you believe that oil prices are going higher or political problems affecting oil supplies from the middle east any stable Canadian supplier would be valuable.
WTO is at an earlier stage then Suncor or Canadian Oil sand so is more speculative, however they are using new technology which promises to be more efficent but hasn't stood the test of time.
Oil prices will probably go down before they go up. | 2005-03-08 | |
| SELL | 62.400 | Fred Pynn | Excellent project. Over time will develop as planned. Short term profit. | 2005-03-03 | |
| DON'T BUY | 59.750 | Michael Sprung | Not as much growth. Dont buy or sell. | 2005-03-01 | |
| BUY | 59.350 | Paul Harris, CFA | The Oil Sands is a great investment over a long term. This and Canadian Oil Sands (COS.UN-T) are great assets and will continue to grow. Likes the dynamics of oil. Within that, oil could fall $5/10 over a period of time. You have to think of these things as a long term story, but there might be some short term dip. | 2005-02-25 | |
| BUY | 53.700 | Michael Smedley | A huge leverage in with the Shell play along with the Suncor play. Will probably end up as a takeover. | 2005-02-23 | |
| BUY | 50.250 | John Stephenson | The Oil Sands is a longated story. In the short term you could have some blips along the way but overall it has a long reserve life, low exploratory costs so it's just the operational costs. A very attractive name to own. | 2005-02-15 | |
| TOP PICK | 50.250 | David Burrows | Oils are now getting into a riskier period. It is in a sweet spot where oils stocks are trending higher and stocks are really making some gains. You have to have an exit strategy. The Tar Sands are strategic assets and there will probably be some acquisitions made. This has been one of the best performing stocks. | 2005-02-15 | |
| TOP PICK | 40.040 | Michael Smedley | Has 20% of the project started by Shell and Chevron. One of the highest quality in the oil sands. Oil might drop further and you could get the stock at a lower price. Should have huge growth. | 2004-12-07 | |
| DON'T BUY | 36.250 | John Stephenson | A little bit pricey compared to others. New CEO shouldn't have an impact. | 2004-09-27 | |
| BUY | 33.110 | John Clarke | Likes the oil sands for the long term. Good management. | 2004-08-05 | |
| BUY | 30.400 | Mark Jackson, CFA | Leveraged to higher oil prices which they think will average made to high $30's. Low risk growth as their big project is behind them. | 2004-05-28 | |
| BUY | 34.670 | Peter Brieger | A great way to play the long-term growth of oil sands. | 2004-03-16 | |
| TOP PICK | 34.500 | Mark Jackson, CFA | Cost overruns in the oil sands is not an issue for them. A stock to buy and put away and forget about it. | 2004-03-15 | |
| BUY | 31.150 | Ross Healey | Likes all of the oils stocks generally. | 2004-01-20 | |
| TOP PICK | 29.800 | Glenn MacNeill, P.Eng. | Owns 20% of Shell's oil sands project. Has lagged behind the other integrateds. Expect they will successfully get their costs down. A good defense of holding | 2003-12-18 | |
| TOP PICK | 28.750 | Glenn MacNeill, P.Eng. | Owns a bituman mining operation, 20% of the oil sands operation. Starting to ramp up reduction and has to get its costs down which is expected by the 2nd quarter of next year. Good value. | 2003-12-11 | |
| PAST TOP PICK | 27.000 | Mark Jackson, CFA | (A top pick June 10/03.Up 3.9%.)This is a company that you can tuck away and own for 5/10 years.They have a 30% ownership in Alpine oil sands project.They can grow cash flow out of that business.Should be lots of growth. | 2003-08-20 | |
| WEAK BUY | 26.990 | Ray Steele | World class assets. Oil might drift a little lower. Buy for the long term hold. | 2003-06-19 | |
| TOP PICK | 25.400 | Mark Jackson, CFA | (Was a top pick on Apr 14/03. Up 1%.) Still likes. 20% ownership of Athabascan Oil Sands. Production should ramp up increasing cash flow. | 2003-06-10 | |
| TOP PICK | 24.600 | Mark Jackson, CFA | Significant growth. Good production. Trades at a discount to its net asset value. | 2003-04-14 | |
| PAST TOP PICK | 23.800 | Glenn MacNeill, P.Eng. | (Was a top pick on Dec 20. Down 4.25%.) Still likes. A good buy now. | 2003-02-05 | |
| BUY | 24.380 | Jeff Morrison | Good growth prospects. Tremendous asset base. | 2002-12-27 | |
| TOP PICK | 24.700 | Glenn MacNeill, P.Eng. | Oil and gas are near their top, so only buy for a long term hold. Will have good production. | 2002-12-20 | |
| BUY | 21.990 | John Clarke | Long reserve life. Could become a trust. | 2002-12-04 | |
| TOP PICK | 25.750 | Mike Weir | Expects oil to go up. Will be in production shortly. | 2002-08-26 | |
Experts that have talked about Western Oil Sands Inc.
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