A Big Upgrade for Tesoro

n addition to following professional banks, anyone can use Motley Fool CAPS
to monitor the collective opinions of more than 130,000 members, many
of whom demonstrate better investing insight than published analysts do.

Enough top-performing CAPS members have turned bullish on Tesoro (NYSE: TSO) recently to upgrade it from the three-star rank it's held for months to a more formidable four stars.
A total of 965 members have given their opinion on Tesoro, with many
offering analysis and commentary to explain their recent optimism.

Lower crude oil prices battered earnings at oil companies such as ExxonMobil (NYSE: XOM) and ConocoPhillips (NYSE: COP) in the first quarter. But refiners such as Tesoro, Valero (NYSE: VLO), Western Refining (NYSE: WNR), and Sunoco enjoyed higher gasoline crack spreads.

For its part, Tesoro earned $51 million on fatter margins, compared
to an $82 million loss last year. The company eliminated its borrowings
on its revolving credit facility, and like rival Frontier Oil (NYSE: FTO),
improved its cash position to $156 million. Tesoro has roughly $1
billion available in its credit facility, giving it plenty of
flexibility in an uncertain economy.

Tesoro still sees challenges ahead because of lower demand for motor
fuels. The company plans to run its Hawaii refinery and others at less
than full capacity this quarter, and Chevron (NYSE: CVX)
is also considering stopping production at its refinery in Honolulu.
But Tesoro said that lower pump prices year over year have been
stimulating more discretionary driving, which could help shore up the
slide in demand.

To see what the very best CAPS analysts are saying now about Tesoro -- and discover the other winning stocks they are picking -- head on over to CAPS
and have a look. Unlike analysts' opinions, which are usually reserved
for paying clients, the community research and resources in CAPS are
totally free.                     

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