These natural-gas juniors provide dividends

Article Excerpt

BONAVISTA ENERGY $1.72 (Toronto symbol BNP; Shares outstanding: 251.7 million; Market cap: $442.9 million; TSINetwork Rating: Speculative; Dividend yield: 2.3%; www.bonavistaenergy.com) explores for oil and gas across B.C., Alberta and Saskatchewan. Its output is 71% gas and 29% oil. In the quarter ended September 30, 2017, the company’s cash flow rose 2.5%, to $68.5 million, or $0.27 a share, from $66.8 million, or $0.26, a year earlier. The rise came from higher production: output rose 11.0%, to 71,191 barrels of oil equivalent per day from 64,160. In 2017, Bonavista spent $275 million on exploration and development. This year, that will drop 38.2% to $170 million. However, ongoing drilling success should let the company report slightly higher production and cash flow for 2018. This year’s lower spending should also help Bonavista continue to pay down its long-term debt. That stands at $721.7 million, or 163% of the stock’s currently depressed market cap. While that remains high, it’s down from $1.2 billion at the start…