Yesterday I was able to pick up some more Provident Energy (PVX: chart, web, Y!) shares for $11.70.

Today the stock was down $0.14 to $11.77 on average volume. I suspect that Tuesdays trading (remember Monday is a holiday) will reveal another push towards $13.  Memorial Day is the official start of the driving season, and even if driving is down this summer, oil will maintain levels above $110 for the majority of the hot months.  This will leave the electrical power generation companies turning to natural gas ($natgas: chart) vs. heavy oil.

Additionally, the hurricane center predicted that this will be another …

Over a week ago Provident Energy (PVX: chart, web, Y!) released their 2008 first quarter results.  After venturing out of town on business for a week, I’m finally starting to catch up on the market events, which, by industry standards are now old news.

A few highlights from the report:

Funds flow from operations in the Canadian Oil and Gas Production and Midstream business units, as well as oil and gas production in the U.S. was up 107% to $180 million or $0.71 per unit.
Distributions for Q1 totaled $0.36 per unit, equating to a payout ratio of 59%, down from 91% in …

Last Wednesday, Provident Energy (PVX: chart, web, Y!) came out with their 2007 year-end and Q407 report, and also provided an update on reserves.

All around a positive report, and I’m curious as to why the stock dropped almost a dollar in two days on a fairly bullish report. The only thing I can think of is that crude oil ($wtic: chart) dropped $6 and natural gas ($natgas: chart) prices waned almost a dollar in those same two days will a lot of money fleeing commodities.

A few highlights from the report:

The payout ratio in the fourth quarter of …

Today Provident Energy (PVX: chart, web, Y!) announced that the February cash distribution will remain at $0.12 USD per share payable on March 14th.

In addition, they announced the characterization of dividends for 2007 distributions as 97.58 percent qualified dividend and 2.42 percent tax deferred return of capital. The tax deferred portion is treated as an adjustment to the cost base of the shares.

This characterization is the last piece of information I need to finish up organizing my 2007 tax information.

It’s good to see the return of capital is so low. Fundamentally it means that the company has been able …

I bought more Provident Energy (PVX: chart, web, Y!) today, adding another 50 shares to my holdings. Crude oil ($wtic: chart) spiked on the news that Benazir Bhutto was assassinated in Pakistan, and natural gas ($natgas: chart) is holding its own above $7 going into the cold weather season.

I’m playing the trend. I’m in the stock for the dividend, but if the price rises to $13 I’ll definitely take some off the table. 30% price appreciation is too much to pass up, especially when you see it coming. …

My Provident Energy Trust (PVX: chart, web, Y!) has been on the slide since the beginning of November. I can’t figure out why.

The only conclusion I can come to is that it’s attributed to end of year tax selling, but that theory only makes marginal sense. After all, PVX is continuing its CDN$0.12 monthly dividend, and fundamentally, I don’t see why they’d drop the distribution any time soon. Crude oil ($wtic: chart) is still North of $90 per barrel, and natural gas ($natgas: chart) is holding above $7 per MCF….

Yesterday Provident Energy (PVX: chart, web, Y!) entered an agreement to buy out a privately held company with oil assets in southeast Saskatchewan for $79 million in shares.

The short end of this is that PVX is spending money to increase reserves, and add to their daily production. In fact, they’ll add 1,300 barrels per day of production, nearly all of which is crude. Provident’s proved plus probable reserves are estimated at 3.6 million barrels of oil.

“This acquisition provides excellent strategic and economic value to Provident, improving the quality and supporting the sustainability of our existing southeast Saskatchewan assets,” …

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