These producers are ready to boost output

Article Excerpt

ENERPLUS CORP. $11.03 (Toronto symbol ERF; Shares outstanding: 242.1 million; Market cap: $2.7 billion; TSINetwork Rating: Speculative; Dividend yield: 1.1%) produces oil and gas from properties in Western Canada—Alberta, Saskatchewan and B.C.—as well as North Dakota and Montana in the western U.S. The company also has properties in the Marcellus Shale. That rock formation runs through Pennsylvania, New York, Ohio and West Virginia. Enerplus’s output fell by 8.0% in the quarter ended June 30, 2017, to an average of 86,209 barrels of oil equivalent per day (52% gas and 48% oil) from 93,659 a year earlier. The decline in production came after the company sold some of its non-core properties in 2016 for $670.4 million. Enerplus used the proceeds of the sale to pay down its debt. Higher oil and gas prices more than offset the lower output, and cash flow jumped 50.2%, to $114.2 million from $76.0 million a year earlier. Cash flow per share rose 34.3%, to $0.47 from $0.35, on…