Out Fox The $treet

 Even prior to the news last week that the government would allow exports of very ultralight oil or condensates, investors in the refiners had to consider the potential for future exports of oil as a major risk. Based on the news, Marathon Petroleum ( NYSE: MPC     ) , HollyFrontier Corp ( NYSE: HFC     ) , and Phillips 66 ( NYSE: PSX     ) dropped for several days. The stocks had already traded relatively flat for a long time after peaking back in early 2013.  One has to wonder if the threat of exporting oil and the lowering of beneficial pricing differentials was already priced into the stocks. The Brookings Institution estimated that up to 700,000 barrels of ultralight oil could be exported starting next year. Does the drop in the above refining stocks provide a buying opportunity for these stocks, especially if the impact of relaxing the export restrictions isn't as severe as feared?  Read the full article here . ...

After a great 2011 and facing a promising finish to 2012, Oneok Partners, L.P. (OKS) has fallen out of favor since the start of November. First, the company provided disappointing commentary on the Q3 earnings call. Second, it announced the decision to not move forward with a Bakken pipeline. The combination turned the market away from this previously hot stock. The company is one of the largest traded MLPs and a leader in gathering, processing, storage, and transportation of natural gas. ONEOK, Inc. (OKE) owns 42.8% of the equity interest. The stock has plunged from over $60 in early November to just below $53 today. In fact, the stock is now down for the year and approaching a total return near flat. Is it time to buy the stock now or are investors realizing that pipeline MLPs aren't free money? Read the full article on Seeking Alpha. The article is classified as PRO and will only be available for viewing for 30 days from 12/17/12. Disclosure: No positions mentioned. Plea...

Back in April, ConocoPhillips (COP) split off Phillips 66 (PSX) to create a company focused on upstream exploration and production. The ultimate goal was to release the company from the regulatory and margin pressures common in the refining business of the new Phillips 66. A few months after the split, Buffett's investment arm of Berkshire Hathaway Inc. (BRK.B) famously increased investments in Phillips 66, to the surprise of most. The refining business has long been suffering due to low cost foreign imports and domestic regulations. Buffett and others though were interested in the potential of the chemicals and pipeline division. As we highlighted back then, the majority of the profits in that company will be derived from the refining arm for the foreseeable future. So was Buffett right to invest in Phillips 66? Read the full article at Seeking Alpha. Disclosure: Long COP. Please review the disclaimer page for more details. 

Prior to the market open on Wednesday, Phillips 66 (PSX) reported earnings that smashed estimates. The earnings this quarter were more interesting than normal, as this was the first independent report for the company since splitting from ConocoPhillips (COP) . Following completion of this transaction, ConocoPhillips is now a leading refining and marketing (R&M), midstream, and chemicals company. Phillips 66's R&M operations include 15 refineries with a net crude oil capacity of 2.2 million barrels per day, 10,000 branded marketing outlets, and 15,000 miles of pipeline systems. Read the full article at Seeking Alpha. Disclosure: Long COP. Please review the disclaimer page for more details. 

Prior to the market open on Wednesday, ConocoPhillips (COP) reported earnings that generally beat significantly reduced estimates. This earnings report was more interesting than normal since it was the first independent report since the company split from Phillips 66 (PSX) . Following completion of the split, ConocoPhillips claims to now be the world's largest independent exploration and production company, based on proved reserves and production of liquids and natural gas. Read the full article at Seeking Alpha. Disclosure: Long COP. Please review the disclaimer page for more details. 

On Friday, Warren Buffett let it be known on Bloomberg that Berkshire Hathaway Inc. (BRK.A) had sold shares in ConocoPhillips (COP) in favor of Phillips 66 (PSX) . Okay, it was actually one of his deputy stock pickers that made the move, but in essence it still has his support. Dividends This move is interesting considering the recent split from ConocoPhillips and the announcement that Phillips 66 would have less than half the dividend yield of its big brother. The $.20 quarterly dividend will only amount to a 2.2% yield. Maybe this shouldn't be a huge surprise as Buffett has long avoided paying dividends at Berkshire. The market though loves dividend paying stocks, and ConocoPhillips has one of the juiciest yields at nearly 5%. Read the full article at Seeking Alpha. Disclosure: Long COP. Please review the disclaimer page for more details. 

This model was down 7.7% in May versus a 6.3% loss for the benchmark S&P 500. In a rare occasion, the model underperformed the market by more than 100 basis points. While disappointing, this does happen sometimes. The benefit is that the stocks with large buybacks are able to purchase more shares at these cheaper prices. Trade Only one major position change was initiated in May with the addition of Ameriprise Financial (AMP) in two transactions. The company has a spectacular net payout yield exceeding 15% with the dividend portion at nearly 3%. The other major transaction was switching out of Phillips 66 (PSX) and back into a full position on ConocoPhillips (COP) after the spinoff back in April. After some research, ConocoPhillips provides the higher guaranteed yields while Phillips 66 remained uncommitted on buybacks. A half position in Home Depot (HD) was sold to reduce exposure to the home improvement sector since both Home Depot and Lowes (LOW) had become t...

This model gained a solid 0.8% in April versus a 0.7% loss for the benchmark S&P 500. The model remained strong all month even as the SP500 fluctuated all month. Trade No trades were made in the month of April as existing positions continued to work well with high yields. Top Performers Considering the market was slightly down and the model was only slightly up, not many positions had outside moves. The biggest gainers were Gap (GPS), Travelers (TRV) , and Chubb (CB). All three companies had very strong earnings partially helped out by the large buyback programs over the last year. Bottom Performers Just as with the top performers, not many stocks had outside negative moves in the month. The biggest losers were Conoco Phillips (COP), Goldman Sachs (GS) and Wellpoint (WLP) with all three companies losing more than 5%. Conoco Phillips had disappointing earnings that naturally pushed down the stock. The other two had surprisingly good earnings eve...