Stronger output supports their dividends

Article Excerpt

PEYTO EXPLORATION & DEVELOPMENT CORP. $10.59 (Toronto symbol PEY; Shares outstanding: 164.6 million; Market cap: $1.7 billion; TSINetwork Rating: Extra Risk; Dividend yield: 6.8%; www.peyto.com) produces and explores for natural gas and oil in Alberta. Its production is 90% gas and 10% oil. In the quarter ended March 31, 2018, the company’s output rose 3.7%, to 104,793 barrels of oil equivalent per day from 101,093 a year earlier. Cash flow increased 5.9%, to $0.90 a share from $0.85. Higher production as well as higher oil prices contributed to the gain. Peyto plans to spend $200 million to $250 million on exploration in 2018. That’s down sharply from $517 million in 2017. Still, this year’s spending, plus ongoing drilling success, should let the company report rising output. The company’s long-term debt stands at $1.2 billion, or a high but manageable 71% of its currently depressed market cap. Peyto trades at just 3.6 times forecast 2018 cash flow of $2.91 per share. Its shares yield a high…