Anadarko Petroleum Corporation (APC)

[Timothy Smith]

Anadarko Petroleum (APC), still the second-largest U.S. independent oil and natural-gas producer by market value, recently boosted its 2012 sales volume forecast and posted adjusted quarterly profit that exceeded most analysts' estimates.

This is good news for investors because the company's sales volume climbed 8.3% from a year earlier to the equivalent of 742,000 barrels of oil a day. The increase in sales was driven by ramped-up production in Colorado and the Gulf of Mexico as well as higher volumes from Algeria.

The company also increased mid-year sales forecast by 3 million barrels to a range of 261 million to 265 million barrels. With a market cap of just over $36 billion and an increase in both U.S. and international production, I believe Anadarko to be a company to hang onto if you own it and to buy now if you don't.