PENN WEST PETROLEUM $9.14 - Toronto symbol PWT

PENN WEST PETROLEUM $9.14 (Toronto symbol PWT; Shares outstanding: 488.1 million; Market cap: $4.4 billion; TSINetwork Rating: A v e r a g e ; D i v i d e n d y i e l d : 6 . 1 % ; www.pennwest.com) is one of Canada’s largest oil and gas producers.

Penn West continues to shore up its finances and take steps to boost its value since appointing Rick George as chairman and Allan Markin as vice-chairman. These moves include cutting staff, selling assets and lowering its dividend.

The company now plans to sell a further $1.5 billion to $2 billion of assets by the end of 2014. It expects to close about $485 million of these deals by the end of this year. The company will use the proceeds to further pay down its debt.

In the quarter ended September 30, 2013, Penn West’s cash flow per share fell 16.7%, to $0.60 from $0.72. It ended the quarter with $2.9 billion of long-term debt, which is a high 66% of its $4.4-billion market cap.

The company holds a number of oil properties with strong potential and many drilling locations, and it plans to focus on oil rather than gas exploration. However, it will need time to replace the cash flow from the assets it has already sold and plans to sell.

Penn West is a hold.

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