Penny Sleuth UK’s Tom Bulford says Ascent Resources (LON:AST), a small-cap company in the oil-and-gas business, has great potential.

It has a conservative business strategy. It operates only in stable political climates. It prefers on-shore to off-shore projects. And it targets the relatively more stable natural gas market over oil.

Tom says Ascent’s stock has performed poorly in the last year. But high expectations over a new exploration project in Italy’s Po Valley could trigger a major rally.