NEW YORK (TheStreet) -- Shares of Energy XXI Ltd. (EXXI) are gaining by 4.07% to $4.09 in mid-morning trading on Thursday, as some energy stocks are being driven into the green due to the rising price of oil.

Crude oil (WTI) is up by 2.11% to $50.25 per barrel and Brent crude is advancing by 2.99% to $58.17 per barrel this morning, according to the index provided by CNBC.com.

Oil prices are surging today as concerns arise regarding the possibility that oil supplies could be disrupted as a result of the fighting between Saudi Arabia and the Houthi rebels in Yemen. Saudi Arabia announced it will launch a series of airstrikes against the rebels on Wednesday evening which continued into Thursday.

Concerns regarding the possible disruptions come as oil demand is stronger than expected, which has caused traders to pay closer attention to geopolitical concerns, the New York Times reports.

"The importance of this is perhaps that the market has begun to react to geopolitical supply risks once again, a trend that has been absent in recent months," analysts at Energy Aspects wrote in a note to clients, the Times added.

Separately, TheStreet Ratings team rates ENERGY XXI LTD as a Sell with a ratings score of D+. TheStreet Ratings Team has this to say about their recommendation:

"We rate ENERGY XXI LTD (EXXI) a SELL. This is driven by some concerns, which we believe should have a greater impact than any strengths, and could make it more difficult for investors to achieve positive results compared to most of the stocks we cover. The company's weaknesses can be seen in multiple areas, such as its feeble growth in its earnings per share, deteriorating net income, generally high debt management risk, disappointing return on equity and weak operating cash flow."

Highlights from the analysis by TheStreet Ratings Team goes as follows:

• ENERGY XXI LTD has experienced a steep decline in earnings per share in the most recent quarter in comparison to its performance from the same quarter a year ago. Earnings per share have declined over the last two years. We anticipate that this should continue in the coming year. During the past fiscal year, ENERGY XXI LTD reported lower earnings of $0.61 versus $1.84 in the prior year. For the next year, the market is expecting a contraction of 536.1% in earnings (-$2.66 versus $0.61).
• The company, on the basis of change in net income from the same quarter one year ago, has significantly underperformed when compared to that of the S&P 500 and the Oil, Gas & Consumable Fuels industry. The net income has significantly decreased by 3662.4% when compared to the same quarter one year ago, falling from $10.50 million to -$373.88 million.
• The debt-to-equity ratio is very high at 2.64 and currently higher than the industry average, implying increased risk associated with the management of debt levels within the company. Along with this, the company manages to maintain a quick ratio of 0.49, which clearly demonstrates the inability to cover short-term cash needs.
• Return on equity has greatly decreased when compared to its ROE from the same quarter one year prior. This is a signal of major weakness within the corporation. Compared to other companies in the Oil, Gas & Consumable Fuels industry and the overall market, ENERGY XXI LTD's return on equity significantly trails that of both the industry average and the S&P 500.
• Net operating cash flow has significantly decreased to -$42.64 million or 127.72% when compared to the same quarter last year. In addition, when comparing to the industry average, the firm's growth rate is much lower.
• You can view the full analysis from the report here: EXXI Ratings Report