Covestor model manager Raymond Urci brings more than 20 years of investing experience to New York based QSP Group LLC. He manages Covestor’s QuantStockPicks model. Here’s the strategy:
QuantStockPicks provides a systematic, quantitative swing trading strategy to actively trade equities in both volatile and static markets.
QuantStockPicks is a very concentrated portfolio with short holding periods, and has our highest risk score of 5. As of end of day 3/31, the portfolio had moved entirely to cash. On 3/29, Urci sold shares of Schlumberger Ltd (NYSE: SLB), the United-States-based provider of oilfield services and supplier of technology, integrated project management and information solutions to customers in the oil and gas industry.
The Motley Fool recently wrote about the opportunities in oilfield services:
The services side of the energy industry has become a good news-bad news situation as of late.
As we move into the second half of April, companies will clear their throats — or at least their human representative will — before telling us about their results for the March quarter. For the past several quarters, Schlumberger (SLB) and Halliburton (NYSE HAL) have essentially taken turns leading off the group’s reporting.
…
It seems that Saudi Arabia is picking up the pace on its Manifa heavy oil project, for which Halliburton holds the offshore portion of the contract. It thereby will provide directional drilling, cementing, and logging for 93 Persian Gulf wells. While Halliburton will be the primary beneficiary of the change, the likes of Schlumberger, Baker Hughes, Weatherford, Nabors Industries (NYSE: NBR), and others should benefit from the project, which entered the planning stage in 2006.
Zacks Equity Research wrote about the effect of political unrest in the Middle East and North Africa is having on SLB:
The company stated that political instability in Egypt, Tunisia and Libya has hit the company’s revenues hard. Disruptions in the Ivory Coast, Yemen, Bahrain, Oman and Algeria also had a minor impact on the company’s earnings. Consequently, these factors will likely affect the first quarter 2011 earnings by 8 cents to 10 cents per share. Additionally, weather-related impediments in Australia (flood issues in its eastern states and Cyclone Yasi in its northeastern coast) have upset the company’s operations.
Although Egypt and Tunisia have resumed normal operations, the company expects continued disturbances in Yemen, Libya and Bahrain.
SLB closed down 0.42% on 3/31.
Sources:
“Oilfield Services could be your Best Bet” David Lee Smith, The Motley Fool, 3/30. http://www.fool.com/investing/general/2011/03/30/oilfield-services-could-be-your-best-bet.aspx
“Schlumberger Sees Tough Q1” Zacks Equity Research, 3/29. https://finance.yahoo.com/news/Schlumberger-Sees-Tough-zacks-2491788579.html?x=0&.v=1
