Time to short Oil and Gas companies?

I never wanted to invest in Oil and Gas companies. Not that I am trying to be a prude but it is a prospect I haven't thought over. I did of course always think about shorting these companies :) Besides shorting is not investing.

This is not the best time to short these companies and may be the best time was some 3 months back. Having said that there are still a few companies where valuation hasn't caught up with the drop in oil price and the drop in growth.

One such company is UPL. It's a oil and gas exploration company with revenues doubling every year from 2003 to 2005. That's where it ends. 2006 growth is expected to be about 20%. Company does oil exploration in Wyoming and China. China growth is about 10%. If you look at the stock price it has gone from $3 to $50 in the last 5 years and is well off it's highs or $70. The stock has a 52 week range of $41 and $70. The P/E is very high for comparable companies at 32.78. The P/S )Price to Sale) is ridiculously high at 12.67 (almost 4 to 8 times higher than the comparable companies). If oil stays at these levels this stock might head down for a while. I see us revisiting 40 some time in the next 2 quarters. Note: The market cap is 7.5 Billion and sales are about 500 Mil in 2005 and about 600 Mil in 2006. Their profit margins are excellent. That is the one catch. If they spend more money in oil exploration that doesn't allow them the fantastic margins they have enjoyed then that is another reason this stock might head down. UPL has the best cost ratio per barrel of oil. That in my opinion will not improve any further.

Countries like Venezuela and Iran will not follow the OPEC cut downs and will produce and sell oil for under the oil price. The cost of a barrel of oil is about $2. Developing countries would not forego the margins they get with oil by cutting down on their production.

Oil might stay at these levels for a while and Oil companies need to factor in the lack of growth.