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Atlanta Gas Light parent company AGL Resources beat analysts’ quarterly earnings estimates by about 10 cents/share but reported slightly lower results of 54 cents/share compared to 55 cents/share in 4Q2002. The company reported a 10% jump in earnings for the year to $2.01 per diluted share.

The bull trend in natural gas futures suffered what some analysts and brokers believe was a fatal blow Thursday as prices spiraled lower on yet another bearish storage report (156 Bcf withdrawal) by the Energy Information Administration. The prompt contract dropped 39 cents in five minutes following the 10:30 a.m. EST inventory update. By 11 a.m. EST, prices had bottomed out at $5.60, down 62 cents from the market’s pre-EIA level. A modest rebound was seen in the afternoon, and the February contract finished the session at $5.834, down 31.6 cents on the day.

Upping its guidance slightly above 2003 expectations, Oneok Inc. on Friday announced earnings guidance for 2004 in the range of $2.12 to $2.18 per share of common stock. The company noted that its guidance includes the Wagner & Brown Ltd. reserve acquisition announced in late October and expected to close on Dec. 22 (see Daily GPI, Oct. 30).

With its coalbed methane production beating even its own estimates, Quicksilver Resources Inc. reported third quarter 2003 net income of $5.2 million ($0.23/share) on revenues of $33.5 million, marking a significant increase over third quarter 2002 net income of $3.6 million ($0.18/share) on revenues of $30.3 million.

With its coal bed methane production beating even its own estimates, Quicksilver Resources Inc. Monday reported third quarter 2003 net income of $5.2 million ($0.23/share) on revenues of $33.5 million, marking a fairly significant increase over third quarter 2002 net income of $3.6 million ($0.18/share) on revenues of $30.3 million.

Public Service Enterprise Group (PSEG) beat Wall Street estimates and avoided the large one-time negative charges of a year ago in announcing earnings from continuing operations for the second quarter of $150 million, or 66 cents/share, compared to a loss of $227 million, or $1.10/share.

Public Service Enterprise Group (PSEG) beat Wall Street estimates and avoided the large one-time negative charges of a year ago in announcing earnings from continuing operations for the second quarter of $150 million, or 66 cents/share, compared to a loss of $227 million, or $1.10/share.

If you can’t beat them, join them. After watching prices bubble higher last week, commercial and fund traders jumped in on the buy-side Monday to drive the natural gas futures market to new two-month highs.

While natural gas futures trading decisions based on rig counts and data from the Energy Information Administration (EIA) on gas production and consumption may be easy to explain to a corporate chief risk officer, technical indicators, such as moving averages and stochastics, do a far better job of not only signaling when a price trend is about to turn, but also the size of an impending rally or retreat, said Tom Saal of Miami-based Commercial Brokerage Corp.