Image by: Tsakos Energy
By Steven Morrison II

Today we are going to take a quick look at two great energy sector stars burning brightly on Wall Street. One may go all the way, the other is torching a little hotter, a little quicker, and may be just a shorter-term ride.

Both are worthy of a look see, for sure. Unless, of course, you don’t like making money.

Tsakos Energy Navigation Limited (TNP)

At the end of last year, the guys at Seeking Alpha were hot on Tsakos Energy, an Athens, Greece-based company that transports energy products such as natural gas and oil to ports around the world with its modern fleet of tank ships.

And the Alpha dogs were right: the stock went from $3.80 to $4.34 in a matter of days, paying off handsomely for the aggressive investor. But many out there don’t think Tsakos is done just yet, that the fast climber still has life left in it.

And it all comes down to ships.

In fact, ships are why Tsakos is, indeed, the word: They have two new vessels due early this year which will expand their ability to generate revenue and solidify market share. Add to that the company’s solid contract base for the future transport of liquified natural gas and you have a company going places (literally).

Of course the real eyeball is always on the stock price, which now is hovering right around $4.22 after some pretty intense up and down action. The company will also be appealing to investors as they have regularly doled out dividends.

Chesapeake Energy (CHK)

Chesapeake Energy is a hot item in the news right now as it was announced that Aubrey McClendon, the company’s Chief Executive and co-founder, would retire on April 1. The move ends an ugly period of cries of conflict of interest under McClendon’s helm.

Investors have reacted positively to the announcement by the Oklahoma City, Oklahoma-based firm, pushing the stock up by as much as 11%. Now that’s what I’m talking about.

But it would appear that there is still lots of life left in CHK, as the stock price keeps inching up. This one is a little more of a gamble than Tsakos as the jump in Chesapeake’s stock price is reactionary and not based on numbers-crunching.

Still, the company may have legs as it is “the second-largest producer of natural gas … and the most active driller of new wells in the U.S.,” according to their media materials. No slouch by any means, making the company a relatively safe bet.

B aggressive. B cautious. But by all means, B.