Here’s Why Wells Fargo, Progress Software, Oasis, Ensco, and More Are Trending

Traders are currently buzzing about energy stocks today after OPEC agreed to trim production for the first time in eight years.

In this article, we’ll analyze three energy stocks that will be affected by the agreement, ENSCO PLC (NYSE:ESV), Oasis Petroleum Inc. (NYSE:OAS), and SM Energy Co (NYSE:SM), as well as two other companies, Progress Software Corporation (NASDAQ:PRGS), and Wells Fargo & Co (NYSE:WFC) which are trending today. We’ll also use 13F data to see what the smart money thinks of each stock.

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Progress Software Corporation (NASDAQ:PRGS) shares are deep in the red after the company reported disappointing results for its fiscal 2016 third quarter. For the period, Progress Software earned $0.44 per share on revenue of $102.4 million, missing the consensus estimates by $0.01 per share and $2.32 million respectively. Sales rose by 1.7% year-over-year, while operating margin stayed steady at 31%. For the full fiscal year ending November 30, 2016, the company expects adjusted EPS of $1.57-to-$1.60 on revenue of $412 million-to-$415 million. Douglas T. Granat‘s Trigran Investments inched up its holding in Progress Software Corporation (NASDAQ:PRGS) by 1% during the second quarter to 856,778 shares at the end of June.

The fall-out from the shady sales tactics scandal that has plagued Wells Fargo & Co (NYSE:WFC) continues. The latest shoe to fall for the mega-bank is word that California has suspended Wells Fargo’s participation in some of its most highly-profitable business relationships with the state. The list of sanctions includes the suspension of investments by the Treasurer’s Office in all Wells Fargo securities, and the suspension of the use of Wells Fargo as a broker-dealer for the purchasing of investments by the Treasurer’s office, among other things. The sanctions will take effect immediately and won’t expire for 12 months. In addition, the California state Treasurer is seeking the separation of the company’s CEO and Chairman positions, which are both currently held by John Stumpf. Ken Fisher‘s Fisher Asset Management reported a long stake of almost 19 million shares in Wells Fargo & Co (NYSE:WFC) at the end of the second quarter.

On the next page we’ll find out why the spotlight is shining on ENSCO, Oasis Petroleum, and SM Energy.

ENSCO PLC (NYSE:ESV), Oasis Petroleum Inc. (NYSE:OAS), and SM Energy Co (NYSE:SM) are each in the spotlight due to the OPEC agreement on Wednesday to limit crude production. Because of the agreement, WTI surged by around 5% in trading yesterday and all three stocks in the spotlight rallied even further. Although the cartel won’t iron out the specifics of which country will cut by how much until November, the organization has generally agreed to limit collective production to a range of between 32.5 million-to-33 million barrels per day, down from the current level of about 33.4 million barrels per day. Given that many traders think the market is around 1 million barrels over-supplied per day, the production limit could instantly balance out the market and give crude prices a long-term boost.

Higher long-term crude prices is definitely good news for shale companies Oasis and SM Energy, which become substantially more competitive around $50 per barrel. It’s also good news for offshore driller ENSCO, as it could mean that the offshore market will recover sooner if prices rise high enough.

Of the three stocks, the smart money liked Oasis the best, as 33 funds tracked by Insider Monkey owned $541.98 million worth of Oasis Petroleum Inc. (NYSE:OAS) shares on June 30, which accounted for 32.20% of the float. In second place was ENSCO, with 30 funds reporting holding long stakes in ENSCO PLC (NYSE:ESV) worth $546.38 million and accounting for 18.70% of the float as of the end of June.

In third place was SM, as our data shows that 20 funds were long SM Energy Co (NYSE:SM), owning 10.20% of the stock’s float on June 30.

Disclosure: None