The Successful Investor Hotline – Friday, December 18, 2015

Article Excerpt

PLEASE NOTE: This is our last Hotline for 2015. Our next Hotline will go out on Friday, January 8, 2016. ENCANA CORP., $7.02, Toronto symbol ECA, fell 15% this week after cutting its dividend and 2016 capital spending plans. In response to the weak outlook for oil and natural gas, Encana has cut its quarterly payout by 78.6%, to $0.015 a share from $0.07 (all amounts except share price in U.S. dollars). The new annual rate of $0.06 yields 1.2%. Encana will also eliminate the 2% discount it offers to shareholders who reinvest their dividends in additional shares. In all, these moves will save it $185 million a year. As well, the company will spend $1.5 billion to $1.7 billion to expand and upgrade its properties in 2016. That’s down about $600 million from 2015. Of the total 2016 spending, 95% will go to Encana’s four main properties: Montney (B.C.), Duvernay (Alberta) and Eagle Ford and Permian (both in Texas). Meantime, the company continues to…