Half Year Assessment on WDS

So the 1st half of 2023 is behind us. The WDS stock price at $34.44, through all the ups and downs, sits around the price it has averaged these past 6 months.




You can’t rule out declines in the price of Brent and periods of weakness that take the WDS sp lower from here but I’ll stick out this weakness because I still like the medium term picture for oil and gas. I also don’t trust the broader market rally that’s taken place this first half - high oil prices and re-ignited inflation will put a lid on that pretty quick ….and WDS will be sitting pretty.

.…..and another dividend isn't far off now. The last one was a boom time dividend and won’t be repeated.




I’m expecting the next couple to be around $A1.50 …..a $3 annual return (fully franked) on a $34 stock price still kicks the arse of any fixed term deposits out there……and I like the prospect of $1.50 dividend after $1.50 dividend for years and years ahead

.….and on top of that I like the ‘insurance’ WDS provides against upheaval in Russia. Last weekend was a little insight as to what can unfold very quickly - a sudden surge in Brent was imminent - a very near thing. As long as you have a reasonable spread of stocks across sectors, relatively low oil prices (and the stabilising effect these have on inflation) should be a net positive for your portfolio. However Putins cut price oil is part of the reason oil prices are not climbing to any great heights. It is a major factor in the overall world wide supply. Any sort of military unrest in Russia ( or at worst a civil war that seriously winds back the supply of Russian oil) will see world oil prices quickly escalate. This will contribute to inflation and put further pressure on interest rates…..bad news for most stocks…..but WDS will hold up well in this environment….it might even be a star performer. A good contra (insurance) stock to have.

And finally (for what it’s worth) ….the majority of brokers still give WDS the thumbs up at these levels.