Higher oil prices should give them a boost

Article Excerpt

Oil prices have jumped over 30% in the past six months. That’s mainly due to production cuts by OPEC and an improving global economy. The good news for Pengrowth and Precision Drilling doesn’t end there: those higher oil prices will spur their earnings but also help them pay down their high debt loads. Still, for new buying, Precision remains the better choice. PENGROWTH ENERGY CORP. $0.87 (Toronto symbol PGF; Aggressive Growth Portfolio, Resources sector; Shares outstanding: 552.3 million; Market cap: $480.5 million; Price-to-sales ratio: 0.9; Dividend suspended in January 2016; TSINetwork Rating: Speculative; www. pengrowth.com) produces oil and natural gas in Western Canada and off the coast of Nova Scotia. The company has sold roughly $1 billion of its less-important properties since the start of 2017. It used the cash to pay down its debt; as of November 9, 2017, it totalled $545 million—still a 1.1 times its market cap. As a result of those sales, Pengrowth now focuses on two main…