Energy Stocks: Energy stocks down; Chevron among top laggards

SAN FRANCISCO (MarketWatch) � Energy stocks fell Monday, with Chevron Corp. CVX �among the largest decliners as investors locked in gains from the company�s earnings beat in the previous session.

Chevron shares were down 1.1%. The company reported rising earnings and production on Friday, and shares gained.

Reuters Chevron is the energy sector�s biggest decliner Monday.

Analysts at UBS on Monday downgraded Chevron stock to neutral from buy, saying the San Ramon, Calif., oil company has outperformed peers by more than 10% in the past 12 months.

Analysts at Tudor Pickering Holt said they continue to prefer Chevron over Exxon Mobil Corp. XOM �shares �based on better near-term cash flow and production trends, cheaper multiples, stronger balance sheet and more upside.�

Shares of Exxon were off 1%. Exxon on Friday reported fourth-quarter results above Wall Street expectations, but its shares came under pressure because of a 6% decline in production volumes over the past year.

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Exxon is �an expensive major, with high current distribution of cash, but absent long-term sustainability with current portfolio,� the analysts at Tudor Pickering Holt said. The analysts said Royal Dutch Shell RDS.A �is their preference among European oil and gas names.

Shell shares fell 2.7%.

Rounding up U.S. stocks of big oil companies, ConocoPhillips COP �shares were off 1.3%.

Peabody Energy Corp. BTU �fell 1.5%. CLSA analysts cut the coal miner to sell from underperform.

Anadarko Petroleum Corp. APC �shares fell 0.8%. The company is expected to report fourth-quarter results Monday after market close. Analysts polled by FactSet expect per-share earnings of 72 cents.

Among the session�s few gainers, refiner Valero Energy Corp. VLO �rose 0.1% and Marathon Petroleum Corp. MPC �gained 0.8%.

The SPDR Energy Select Sector XLE , an exchange-trade fund tracking energy names, retreated 0.9%. Crude-oil futures CLH3 �were off 1.3% at $96.54 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange.