Pick of the U.S. Oil & Gas Producers: Focus on North America cuts risk

Article Excerpt

Natural-gas prices have risen from $3.55 U.S. per thousand cubic feet at the beginning of May to $3.96 today. However, that’s still down from a high of almost $13 last June. Gas-weighted Cimarex and Devon trade at reasonable multiples to their forecast cash flows, based on today’s lower prices. Both have low debt and steady development spending, which put them in a good position to prosper when natural-gas prices rebound. CIMAREX ENERGY $30.94 (New York symbol XEC; SI Rating: Extra Risk) (303-295-3995; www.cimarex.com; Shares outstanding: 83.3 million; Market cap: $2.6 billion) is an oil and gas explorer and producer that mainly operates in the U.S. Natural gas makes up 69% of its production. Cimarex has properties in western Oklahoma; Kansas; the upper Gulf Coast regions of Texas and southern Louisiana; the Permian Basin area of western Texas; and the Gulf of Mexico. The company’s natural-gas production averaged 489 million cubic feet equivalent per day in the latest quarter, up 3% from a year…