oil and gas

CIMAREX ENERGY $118.11 (New York symbol XEC; TSINetwork Rating: Extra Risk) (303-295-3995; www.cimarex.com; Shares outstanding: 87.0 million; Market cap: $10.0 billion; Dividend yield: 0.5%) produces and explores for oil and gas. Gas makes up 50% of its output.

Cimarex’s properties are in the Mid-Continent region of the U.S., which includes Oklahoma, Kansas and Texas (49% of production); the Permian Basin of western Texas and southeastern New Mexico (47%); and the Texas Gulf Coast (4%).

In the three months ended December 31, 2013, Cimarex’s production averaged 704.9 million cubic feet of natural gas equivalent per day (including oil). That’s up 4.2% from 676.7 million cubic feet a year earlier.

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DEVON ENERGY CORP. $68.68 (New York symbol DVN; TSINetwork Rating: Speculative) (405-235-3611; www.dvn.com; Shares outstanding: 407.4 million; Market cap: $27.6 billion; Dividend yield: 1.4%) is one of the largest U.S.-based oil and natural gas explorers and producers. Its production mix is 57% gas and 43% oil.

In 2011, Devon sold all of its international and Gulf of Mexico properties, which it saw as risky and expensive to develop. The company aimed to focus on its North American projects, which include conventional production, Texas shale oil and Alberta oil sands.

Devon recently narrowed its focus even further by selling some of its Canadian properties to Canadian Natural Resources (symbol CNQ on Toronto) for $2.8 billion.

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CARFINCO FINANCIAL GROUP INC., $9.71, symbol CFN on Toronto, provides car loans to consumers who don’t meet the criteria of traditional lenders, like banks. In September 2013, Carfinco expanded into the U.S. through its $9.5-million purchase of Persian Acceptance Corp., an automotive lender that also caters to less-affluent borrowers. The acquisition increased Carfinco’s loans outstanding by 22%. In the three months ended December 31, 2013, the company’s revenue rose 29.6%, to $24.9 million from $19.2 million a year earlier. Carfinco loaned $46.0 million in the quarter, up 14.8% from $40.1 million....

DOREL INDUSTRIES (Toronto symbol DII.B; www.dorel.com) makes a range of items, including ready-to-assemble home and office furniture; juvenile products, such as car seats, strollers, high chairs, toddler beds and cribs; and recreational goods, mainly bicycles....

IMPERIAL OIL $50.82 (Toronto symbol IMO; Shares outstanding: 847.6 million; Market cap: $42.7 billion; TSINetwork Rating: Average; Dividend yield: 1.0%; www.imperialoil.ca) is a major integrated oil company with oil sands projects in Alberta and conventional oil and gas operations across Western Canada. It also operates four refineries and 1,850 Esso gas stations.

In the three months ended December 31, 2013, Imperial produced an average of 329,000 barrels of oil equivalent a day, up 15.4% from 285,000 barrels a year earlier. The gain was mainly due to the start-up of its Kearl oil sands project in April 2013.

The higher production increased Imperial’s revenue by 7.2%, to $8.4 billion from $7.8 billion. However, insufficient pipeline capacity has made it difficult for the company to sell its oil in higher-priced markets. That cut its earnings per share by 1.5%, to $1.24 from $1.26. Cash flow per share fell 11.7%, to $1.67 from $1.89.
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CHESAPEAKE ENERGY CORP., $24.67, symbol CHK on New York, is preparing to spin off its oil-field services division into a separate, publicly traded company. The new firm would be called Seventy Seven Energy and would trade under the SSE symbol. Chesapeake would then hand out all of the new company’s shares to its shareholders in a tax-free transaction. The division, now called Chesapeake Oilfield, provides contract drilling, hydraulic fracturing, equipment rentals, trucking and other services. Combined, drilling and hydraulic fracturing supply over 75% of its revenue. Chesapeake Oilfield has around 71 active drilling rigs and nine fleets of pressure-pumping trucks for fracturing....

RUSSEL METALS $30.34 (Toronto symbol RUS; TSINetwork Rating: Speculative) (905-819-7777; www.russelmetals.com; Shares outstanding: 61.0 million; Market cap: $1.9 billion; Dividend yield: 4.4%) is one of North America’s largest metal distributors. It serves 39,000 clients at 53 locations in Canada and 12 in the U.S.

In the quarter ended December 31, 2013, Russel’s revenue rose 5.9%, to $811.1 million from $765.9 million a year earlier....

BIRCHCLIFF ENERGY $10.35 (Toronto symbol BIR; TSINetwork Rating: Speculative) (403-261-6401; www.birchcliffenergy.com; Units outstanding: 144.0 million; Market cap: $1.5 billion; No dividends paid) develops, produces and explores for oil and natural gas, mainly in the Peace River Arch area near the Alberta/B.C....

DOREL INDUSTRIES $38.76 (Toronto symbol DII.B; TSINetwork Rating: Extra Risk) (514-731-0000; www.dorel.com; Shares outstanding: 31.5 million; Market cap: $1.2 billion; Dividend yield: 3.4%) makes a range of items, including ready-to-assemble home and office furniture; juvenile products, such as car seats, strollers, high chairs, toddler beds and cribs; and recreational goods, mainly bicycles.

In the three months ended December 31, 2013, Dorel’s sales rose 1.8%, to $633.5 million from $622.6 million a year earlier (all figures except share price and market cap in U.S....

SASOL LTD. (ADR) $52.96 (New York symbol SSL; TSINetwork Rating: Extra Risk) (082- 883-9697; www.sasol.com; ADRs outstanding: 649.9 million; Market cap: $36.6 billion; Dividend yield: 2.8%) is the world’s largest producer of fuel from coal at its facility in Secunda, South Africa....