Santos (ASX:STO) shares on investors’ radar as crude oil prices jump

Highlights 

• Today, the share price of Santos was spotted trading 0.682% higher at AU$7.380 a piece on ASX at 3:38 PM AEDT.
• At one point, the S&P/ASX 200 Energy (ASX:XEJ) was 0.66% higher at 9,457.2 today.
• The turbulent commodity prices amidst the Russia-Ukraine war appear to impact shares of the energy companies in Australia.

The share price of Santos Limited (ASX:STO) traded in green on Thursday (17 March 2022) at AU$7.380 a piece on ASX at the time of writing this article. 

Santos is an ASX-listed company that is Australia's leading oil and gas producer. In the last 12 months, Santos shares have gained almost 0.61%, while the stock is over 11% higher on year-to-date (YTD).

Today, at one point, the S&P/ASX 200 Energy (ASX:XEJ) was 0.66% higher at AU$9,457.2.

The volatile commodity prices amidst the Russia-Ukraine war appear to impact shares of the energy companies in Australia.

In another volatile session, oil prices fell yesterday (Wednesday) as investors responded to hope for advancement in Russia-Ukraine peace talks and a dramatic upsurge in the US inventories.

On Wednesday, global benchmark Brent crude had swung between US$97.55 and US$103.70 and was down at US$98.50 per barrel at one time.

 On Tuesday, the crude oil price fell below the US$100 barrel mark, after a two-week period that saw the price soaring to US$139 a barrel, the highest in 14 years.

Image source: Virrage Images, Shutterstock.com

Oil prices today:

Crude oil touched higher on Thursday after the International Energy Agency (IEA) said a decline in oil demand because of higher prices would not offset a shut-in of Russian oil supplies, but not enough to offset the previous day's declines.

Brent crude futures were up 0.67%, to US$98.68 a barrel, compared with a recent peak of US$129.30. U.S. WTI crude was up 0.86%, to US$95.86 per barrel.

On Thursday, Santos' rivals which traded in the red, included Woodside Petroleum Limited (ASX:WPL), 0.614% lower at AU$30.770, while Origin Energy Limited (ASX:ORG) was 0.941% down at AU$5.795. 

Read More: 4DMedical (ASX:4DX) shares surge over 21% on launching world’s first lung scanner

Financial health of Santos Limited

Last month, in its full-year results for 2021, the energy giant reported record free cash flow and underlying earnings and higher final dividend. The company's financial results reflected significantly higher oil and LNG prices than the corresponding period due to the recovery in global energy demand along with the supply constraints across the industry due to lower capital investment during the pandemic, and three weeks contribution from the Oil Search assets. Meanwhile, the energy company's Underlying net profit after tax was US$946 million in FY21 compared to US$287 million in the previous year, up 230%.

The company is expected to pay a partially franked final dividend of US8.5 cents per fully paid ordinary share on 24 March 2022 to shareholders registered in the company's books at the close of business on 22 February 2022 (Record Date).

Read More: How are Cochlear (ASX:COH) shares performing after robust 1HFY22 results?