investors appear ready to starting buying energy stocks again as earnings start rolling in they are looking to boost their weightings in the sector given healthy freecash flows fcf said analyst neal dingmann at truist dingmann said he had previously believed that many investors would wait another quarter or two to start buying again after companies reported “solid” fcf and after shareholder returns such as share repurchases and dividends were announced but following talks with a number of exploration and production ep companies and numerous meetings with investors dingmann said he believes “demand for energy stocks is about to dramatically increase” as the earnings reports start rolling in “while energy investors are not yet stepping into many new positions our conversations and other dealings suggest that is about to change” dingmann wrote in a note to clients dingmann said his note comes after being “on the road extensively” with six ep companies apa corp apa  callon petroleum co cpe  earthstone energy inc este  matador resources co mtdr  murphy oil corp mur and northern oil and gas inc nog  he has a “buy” rating on all six of those companies the spdr energy select sector exchangetraded fund xle  which rallied 19 in midday trading monday has gained 192 over the past three months and 473 year to date it is the only spdr etf tracking the sp 500 index’s 11 key sectors that is showing a gain for those time periods in comparison the sp 500 spx  which powered up 26 on monday has lost 49 the past three months and tumbled 229 in 2022 about onethird of the companies dingmann covers are expected to report thirdquarter fcf below that seen in the previous quarter but fcf yields will still be among the highest of any sector and with the pace of oilfield services ofs inflation having slowed oil rigs and frac spreads equipment used in hydraulic fracturing or “fracking” are starting to become available what will also attract more investor interest dingmann said is that thirdquarter reports will show that earnings and cash flow continue to represent a much higher portion of the total than what sector weightings in broadmarket indexes account for as a result he expects “a steady increase” in energy weightings by investors as earnings results are reported the first spdr energy etf components slated to report results are kinder morgan inc kmi and baker hughes co bkr  both on oct 19 followed by schlumberger ltd slb on oct 21 the sp 500’s energy sector which carries a 45 weighting in the sp 500 is expected to report aggregate thirdquarter earnings per share eps that are more than double up 1213 those of a year ago according to factset data don’t miss sp 500 would be in an ‘earnings recession’ if not for this one booming sector but that may not last long meanwhile aggregate eps for the entire sp 500 is expected to rise just 13 from a year ago