Under-the-Radar Energy Stocks for Today

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The biggest oil companies, such as Chevron(CVX Quote), Exxon Mobil(XOM Quote) and British Petroleum(BP Quote), used to offer the largest dividends and lowest correlation to the stock market, luring investors during tough economic times.

The behemoths have been surpassed in some respects by much smaller companies.

The following two energy companies, rated "buy" by TheStreet.com Ratings, are among the biggest beneficiaries of an oil rebound. The price of crude rose to a six-month high last week, and a Platts analysis of official industry data indicated that China's oil demand posted its first year-over-year increase in six months.

Only 35 of 391, or 9%, of energy stocks covered by TheStreet.com Ratings earn "buy" recommendations.

Philadelphia-based Sunoco Logistics Partners(SXL Quote) was formed to own and operate Sunoco's(SUN Quote) refined product and crude oil pipelines, and storage facilities. The company generates revenue by charging tariffs for pipeline distribution and storage.

Sunoco Logistics Partners offers an 8% dividend yield and, as a bonus, is trading at a discount in the oil and gas storage industry based on earnings, sales, book value and cash flow. The stock has a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.07, which is 42% cheaper than its average rival.

The company's first-quarter net sales dropped 57% to $1.03 billion, but its operating margins widened, causing earnings per share to more than double to $2.36 from $1.04. Sunoco Logistics Partners' shares have increased 13% this year, while Exxon Mobil and Chevron have each declined more than 10%. The company, which has a market value of $1.6 billion compared with Exxon Mobil's $336 billion, has a remarkably low beta, a measure of stock-market correlation, of 0.1. One is a perfect correlation.