Rising production should pay off in 2010

Article Excerpt

APACHE CORP. $102 (New York symbol APA; Aggressive Growth Portfolio, Resources sector; Shares outstanding: 336.4 million; Market cap: $34.3 billion; Price-to-sales ratio: 4.0; Dividend yield: 0.6%; WSSF Rating: Average) raised its daily production by 9.2% in 2009. Even so, its earnings fell 50.2%, to $5.59 a share from $11.22 in 2008. Cash flow per share fell 32.5%, to $14.76 from $21.88. The lower results were mainly caused by a 31.8% drop in oil prices and a 44.9% decline in natural-gas prices. Apache’s production should rise again this year. That’s because new wells will begin operating in Australia, Canada and Egypt. The company’s strong balance sheet also gives it the flexibility to buy other related firms. Its $5.0 billion of long-term debt is a low 15% of its market cap. It holds cash of $2.05 billion, or $6.09 a share. Apache is a buy. buy…