Energy Stock Investing: Interview with Argus’ Phil Weiss

Investors looking at energy stocks always have a lot to sort through. At the moment tensions in the Middle East, including over the Suez Canal (left), are top of mind. Egypt controls the Suez Canal, the route by which much of Europe’s oil is moved from the Middle East. At first there were concerns about the impact of instability following the demonstrations in Tahrir Square, today tensions between Israel and Iran have the canal top of mind. Geopolitical risk is only one factor. Environmental issues loom large for the energy industry as well. The effects of BP’s Gulf Oil spill, last year’s biggest energy story and environmental disaster, linger and likely will continue to for some time to come.

All that’s before you even start to dig into the details of any particular company’s prospects.

For insight on investing in this complicated sphere, Portfolioist caught up with Phil Weiss, a senior analyst with Argus Research. Weiss has been following the energy sector for almost five years and is ranked by both Bloomberg and the FT/StarMine survey as one of the top analysts for the sector. He’s also a Certified Public Accountant who earlier in his career worked at Deloitte & Touche, so he enjoys drilling into his company’s financial reports.