“It is not lost on us that energy producers are being heavily used as a temporary financial hedge against sectors which are being battered and bruised by elevated oil prices,” RBC Capital Markets analyst Greg Pardy, head of global energy research, said in a report released on April 16, referring to the war in the Middle East. The conflict resulted in the closure of the Strait of Hormuz, the transportation route for 20 per cent of the world’s energy needs. Just a day later, Iran announced the strait was “completely open.” With that tenuous relief, Pardy and his team had some suggestions for how investors could position themselves for what is hoped to be a less-chaotic energy picture. In the intermediate energy and utilities space RBC likes PrairieSky Royalty Ltd. (PSK:TSX). RBC hiked its price target for PrairieSky this week to $36 from $35 for the largest royalty owner in the Western Canada Sedimentary Basin. Shares closed Friday at $30.85. “We believe a premium multiple is warranted by the company’s perpetual resource exposure and strong balance sheet. Our price target supports our outperform rating,” RBC said. In the Canadian oilfield services sector, analyst Keith Mackey likes Enerflex Ltd. (EFX:TSX), CES Energy Solutions Corp. (CEU:TSX) and Precision Drilling Corp. (PD:TSX) based on the expectation that strong free-cash flow will continue in 2026. Mackey hiked his price targets for Enerflex, CES and Precision this week to $35.78 from $27.40, $22 from $20 and $150 from $140, respectively. Shares closed Friday at $31.37, $17.17 and $114.36, respectively.