KUALA LUMPUR (Feb 2): SapuraKencana Petroleum Bhd led FBM KLCI gainers so far this year as insitutional investors bought more shares in the oil and gas (O&G) support-services provider.

The Employees Provident Fund (EPF) has raised its stake in SapuraKencana (fundamental: 1.3; valuation: 1.8) after the stock fell to fresh lows in recent weeks on lower crude oil prices, which affected sentiment across the O&G industry.

SapuraKencana shares had gained 15.09% as at last Friday (Jan 30), significantly outperforming the KLCI's 1.14% advance, Bloomberg data showed.

On that day, SapuraKencana shares fell eight sen or 3% to close at RM2.67 for a market capitalisation of RM16 billion.

Over the last six months, the stock fell to an intraday low of RM2 on December 15, 2014 from a high of RM4.36 on August 4.

The 15.09% year-to-date (YTD) gain in SapuraKencana compared to the KLCI's second-largest gainer Felda Global Ventures Holdings Bhd's 11.93% advance.

Meanwhile, Petronas Chemicals Group Bhd led KLCI decliners with a 6.42% drop followed by Malayan Banking Bhd, which fell 4.91%.      

SapuraKencana's latest updates to Bursa Malaysia showed the EPF upped its stake to 14.1% in the firm as at last Tuesday (January 27) from 13.13% on December 26, 2014.

At current levels, the EPF is the third-largest shareholder in SapuraKencana. This compares to its largest shareholder Sapura Holdings Sdn Bhd's 16.71% followed by Sapura Technology Sdn Bhd's 15.9%.

Today, Reuters reported that oil prices fell early on Monday after U.S. unions called a refinery strike and traders cashed in on strong price gains last week when the market soared more than 8 percent on a sharp drop in U.S. drilling.

Brent crude oil futures were trading at $51.92 a barrel at 0100 GMT and U.S. WTI futures were at $47.17 a barrel, both down $1.07 a barrel.

(Note: The Edge Research's fundamental score reflects a company’s profitability and balance sheet strength, calculated based on historical numbers. The valuation score determines if a stock is attractively valued or not, also based on historical numbers. A score of 3 suggests strong fundamentals and attractive valuations.)