Ultra Petroleum: A Natural Gas Stock to Keep Your Portfolio Warm

As cold weather moves in and grips the Northeast, natural gas investors are increasingly boosting exposure to producers benefiting from the winter season storage drawdown.

Despite overall U.S. natural gas in storage remaining 1.7% above the 5-year average, national storage remains within the 5-year range, with east coast storage running 5.7% below normal and west coast storage in line at 0.3% above average.

Cold temperatures support natural gas prices, with last week’s storage draw the 6th highest on records dating back to 2002. In the week ending January 13th, the average temperature in the lower 48 states came in at an average 28.3 degrees, down 6.4 degrees from the prior week and 4.7 degrees below historical norms (National Weather Service’s Degree Day Data).

The Northeast remains colder than usual. The average January low in Boston is 22 degrees while the average high is 36 degrees. In the coming 10 days, Boston is expected to see an average low of 16.8 degrees and an average high of 28 degrees. The average Boston observed temperature over the past two weeks was an average 21-degree low and an average 32-degree high. (more)