oil and gas
AltaGas Ltd., $33.50, symbol ALA on Toronto (Shares outstanding: 144.7 million; Market cap: $4.9 billion; www.altagas.ca), processes, transmits, stores and markets natural gas for producers; generates power from gas-fired, coal-fired, wind, biomass and hydroelectric plants; and operates natural gas utilities. In the three months ended June 30, 2015, AltaGas’s cash flow per share dropped 41.9%, to $0.50 from $0.86 a year earlier. Revenue fell 11.7%, to $416.0 million from $471.0 million. The declines mostly came from increased maintenance costs at its 33%-owned Petrogas liquids-storage business. In September 2015, the company agreed to buy three gas-fired power plants in northern California for $642 million U.S. These facilities have long-term contracts to sell their power to Pacific Gas & Electric, which cuts their risk. The purchase should increase AltaGas’s annual cash flow per share by 5%....
CANADIAN PACIFIC RAILWAY LTD., $202.17, Toronto symbol CP, reported lower freight volumes in the latest quarter, mainly due to falling prices for oil and other commodities, but the railway still reported better-than-expected results. In the three months ended September 30, 2015, CP earned $427 million, up 6.8% from $400 million a year earlier. Per-share profits jumped 16.5%, to $2.69 from $2.31, on fewer shares outstanding. These results exclude unusual items, such as gains on asset sales. On that basis, the latest earnings beat the consensus estimate of $2.67. Revenue gained 2.3%, to $1.71 billion from $1.67 billion, also beating the consensus forecast of $1.69 billion....
The near-term direction of oil and gas prices remains uncertain, so we think the best way to cut risk is to look for companies with rising production that are trading at reasonable multiples to cash flow. Here are two with sound long-term prospects. DEVON ENERGY CORP. $43.90 (New York symbol DVN; TSINetwork Rating: Speculative) (405-235- 3611; www.dvn.com; Shares outstanding: 411.0 million; Market cap: $18.8 billion; Dividend yield: 2.2%) is one of the largest U.S.-based oil and natural gas explorers and producers. Its production mix is 40% gas and 60% oil. The company narrowed its focus with its July 2014 sale of some of its properties to Linn Energy for $2.3 billion. The deal included holdings in the Rockies, the onshore Gulf Coast and the Mid-Continent region (which includes Oklahoma, Kansas and Texas)....
CHESAPEAKE ENERGY $7.87 (New York symbol CHK; TSINetwork Rating: Extra Risk) (405-848-8000; www.chk.com; Shares outstanding: 665.4 million; Market cap: $5.5 billion; No dividends paid) stopped paying dividends earlier this year to conserve cash in the face of low oil and gas prices. The cut will save Chesapeake $240 million annually. Now the company has announced that it is laying off 740 employees, or 15% of its workforce. About 560 of these workers are from its headquarters in Oklahoma City. Chesapeake will incur a one-time charge of $55.5 million for the layoffs. Meanwhile, the company expects its output to rise 1% to 3% in 2015, to an average of 640,000 to 650,000 barrels of oil a day. The stock trades at just 2.1 times Chesapeake’s annual cash flow of $3.68 a share, based on the latest quarter....
Our view on the risks and rewards of Canadian penny stock Madalena Energy, which is carrying out ambitious plans in Argentina
ENERPLUS CORP. $8.15 (Toronto symbol ERF; Shares outstanding: 206.2 million; Market cap: $1.6 billion; TSINetwork Rating: Extra Risk; Dividend yield: 7.4%) produces an average of 107,429 barrels of oil equivalent a day (57% gas and 43% oil). Its properties are mainly in Alberta, Saskatchewan, B.C., North Dakota and Montana, as well as in the Marcellus shale, which passes through Pennsylvania, New York, Ohio and West Virginia.
Enerplus increased its production by 3.3% in the three months ended June 30, 2015, but that wasn’t enough to offset sharply lower oil and gas prices; cash flow per share fell 25.0%, to $0.78 from $1.04. Like Crescent Point, Enerplus has cut exploration spending this year. Its outlays will now total $580 million, down 28.5% from $811.0 million in 2014.
The lower spending, along with Enerplus’s plan to produce less gas in the Marcellus shale until prices rise, will cut its forecast 2015 production to around 105,199 barrels of oil equivalent a day.
...
Enerplus increased its production by 3.3% in the three months ended June 30, 2015, but that wasn’t enough to offset sharply lower oil and gas prices; cash flow per share fell 25.0%, to $0.78 from $1.04. Like Crescent Point, Enerplus has cut exploration spending this year. Its outlays will now total $580 million, down 28.5% from $811.0 million in 2014.
The lower spending, along with Enerplus’s plan to produce less gas in the Marcellus shale until prices rise, will cut its forecast 2015 production to around 105,199 barrels of oil equivalent a day.
...
CRESCENT POINT ENERGY CORP. $19.86 (Toronto symbol CPG; Shares outstanding: 498.3 million; Market cap: $9.4 billion; TSINetwork Rating: Extra Risk; Dividend yield: 6.0%; www.crescentpointenergy.com) produces oil and natural gas in Western Canada, with a focus on its Bakken light oil development in southeastern Saskatchewan. Its output is 91% oil and 9% gas.
In the three months ended June 30, 2015, Crescent Point’s cash flow fell 17.7%, to $524.3 million from $636.7 million a year earlier. The company raised its daily output by 10.4%, but lower oil and gas prices offset that increase.
Cash flow per share declined 26.5%, to $1.14 from $1.55, because the company issued shares to pay for acquisitions, including $1.5 billion for Legacy Oil + Gas in June 2015.
...
In the three months ended June 30, 2015, Crescent Point’s cash flow fell 17.7%, to $524.3 million from $636.7 million a year earlier. The company raised its daily output by 10.4%, but lower oil and gas prices offset that increase.
Cash flow per share declined 26.5%, to $1.14 from $1.55, because the company issued shares to pay for acquisitions, including $1.5 billion for Legacy Oil + Gas in June 2015.
...
Natural gas stock prices move up and down with a wide range of factors.
The price of natural gas, like the price of oil, is highly volatile—and influenced both up and down by a wide range of factors. So it’s a bad idea to base investment decisions on predictions of future natural gas prices, and their effects on natural gas stock prices, because these predictions are simply not reliable.
However, you can profit nicely over long periods by investing in well-established or well-managed companies that are active in businesses that involve highly volatile commodities like oil and gas. You profit all the more if you buy these companies when they are cheap in relation to earnings and assets.
...
Madalena Energy, $0.32, symbol MVN on Toronto (Shares outstanding: 542.1 million; Market cap: $176.2 million; www.madalenaenergy.com), is a Canadian oil and gas producer that mainly operates in Argentina, though it also has a presence in Alberta. Prior to June 2014, the company’s Argentine operations consisted of about 450 barrels of oil equivalent per day of production from one concession at Coiron Amargo. In June 2014, Madalena acquired all of the outstanding shares of Gran Tierra Energy’s Argentine business unit for $59.2 million. The company is now focused on four areas: the Loma Montosa oilfield, the Vaca Muerta shale, the Lower Agrio shale and the Mulichinco field, which is rich in natural gas liquids....
Adding high-quality resource stocks to your portfolio can provide you with a valuable hedge against inflation and provide other hidden benefits