NewsOK member benefits

Eagle & Beagle

Don Mecoy: Eagle & Beagle

By Don Mecoy | Published: July 8, 2012 Comment on this article

Eagle & Beagle

Eagle

A couple of times a year, I widen my view of local stocks from one week to two weeks — not in an effort to seek greater statistical accuracy, but because I'm on vacation. This is one of those post-vacation columns. Here are some state-based stocks that seem to perform well when I'm, well, not working. Oklahoma City-based energy firms Gulfport Energy and GMX Resources each gained more than 16 percent. Most energy companies have done well, but those two took the eagle prize. Meanwhile, long-suffering Apco Oil & Gas International posted a nearly 14 percent jump in its stock price over the past two weeks to close Friday at $21.08. Before the recent surge, APAGF shareholders had watched their investment fall by 75 percent since the year began. Perhaps some traders thought the political turmoil that beat down the Tulsa firm's stock price may have created a bargain.

Beagle

My vacation appears to have been good for the shares of most of Oklahoma's publicly traded companies. One of the exceptions was Educational Development Corp., a Tulsa-based seller of children's books through retail stores, the Internet and a multilevel marketing network. Nasdaq notified the company last month that it was in danger of having its stock removed from the exchange because one of the firm's independent directors resigned. I assume Educational Development will take care of that during the six months the company has in which to get back into compliance. This latest stock price decline came after a couple of online articles questioned whether the company could maintain its current dividend. EDUC is thinly traded, and its latest close at $3.98 is not far from its 52-week low. However, on a purely personal note, I can vouch for the products after buying a few for my kids from a local mom who sells them.