The latest Market Talks covering Energy and Utilities. Published exclusively on Dow Jones Newswires at 4:20 ET, 12:20 ET and 16:50 ET.

0105 GMT - Woodside Energy has suffered from a perfect storm of external factors that have dragged on investor sentiment, says Morgans, which stays bullish on the stock. Woodside's share price is down around 19% over the past 12 months. Morgans says it now trades on a materially lower multiple than rival Santos, despite having higher-margin earnings, a better-quality portfolio of projects and a stronger balance sheet. Analyst Adrian Prendergast retains an add call on Woodside, believing the market has misjudged the company's new Louisiana LNG project "which has a reasonable probability of seeing equity selldowns and solid execution under Woodside/Bechtel management." (david.winning@wsj.com; @dwinningWSJ)

2147 GMT - The $4.08 billion agreed-to acquisition of oil producer Double Eagle IV by Diamondback Energy, announced Tuesday, leaves fewer sizeable private assets in the Permian Basin that large energy companies could buy, according to Andrew Dittmar, a principal analyst at Enverus, an energy-focused data analytics company. "Buying private assets has been fundamental to Permian Basin [mergers and acquisitions], but after three years of furious consolidation, there are very few remaining opportunities," Dittmar says in a market note. Some of the largest remaining private producers in the region are "multi-generation family companies not necessarily interested in a sale," while consolidation has made it difficult for private-equity firms to build new big businesses there, he says. Double Eagle IV is backed by EnCap Investments in Houston. (luis.garcia@wsj.com; @lhvgarcia)

1909 GMT - Oil futures settle higher as a drone attack on a pumping station in southern Russia affects flows of Kazakh crude to the Black Sea, while preliminary talks between the U.S. and Russia over the war in Ukraine start with both sides agreeing to appoint high-level teams and explore possibilities for a peace agreement. Conflicting reports as to whether OPEC+ plus will start unwinding output cuts in April or extend the cuts again are also on traders' radars. "I think it is unlikely OPEC+ increases production," says Mizuho's Robert Yawger in a note, adding that "the market does not need the barrels." WTI settles up 1.6% at $71.85 a barrel, and Brent rises 0.8% to $75.84 a barrel. (anthony.harrup@wsj.com)

1440 GMT - Repsol is expected to buy back 400 million euros of shares in 2025, RBC Capital Markets analysts Biraj Borkhataria and Adnan Dhanani write. This is down from the around 850 million euros it bought back in 2024, they add. Refining margins at the Spanish energy company are starting to improve and could provide a tailwind this year, the analysts say. While the broader macroeconomic environment is choppy, news of a potential Russia-Ukraine peace deal is likely to be beneficial for Repsol and European refiners, they write. A peace deal would likely drive gas prices lower and increase hydrocarbon availability should normal supplies resume. Repsol shares are flat at 12.13 euros. (adam.whittaker@wsj.com)

1431 GMT - Repsol investors will examine the company's financial framework when it reports fourth-quarter and full-year results on Thursday, RBC Capital Markets analysts Biraj Borkhataria and Adnan Dhanani write. While higher refining margins should boost the Spanish energy company's results, leverage is expected to carry on rising in 2025, they write. Proceeds from disposals in 2024 will likely fall short of the around 1 billion euros it had guided for at its third-quarter results, they write. The company will need to demonstrate that it can execute asset sales or cut gross capital expenditure materially in order to show investors that it can keep leverage in check, they write. Shares are flat at 12.13 euros. (adam.whittaker@wsj.com)

1324 GMT - Oil futures are mixed with WTI 0.6% higher as U.S. markets reopen after the long weekend, digesting upside from a drone strike on a pipeline that carries Kazakh crude to the Black Sea. Brent is off 0.1% at $75.13 a barrel. While the pipeline outage is seen removing oil from the market, traders are also focusing on talks between the U.S. and Russia on ending the Russia-Ukraine war, and whether OPEC and its allies will go ahead with a plan to start gradually returning withheld production in April. "We expect bearish headlines to outweigh bullish news," on the Ukraine-Russia issue, while "premium related to the Trump tariffs is more apt to expand than to contract in providing some offset," Ritterbusch says in a note. (anthony.harrup@wsj.com)

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

February 19, 2025 04:20 ET (09:20 GMT)

Copyright (c) 2025 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.