XEC’s production set to rise

Article Excerpt

CIMAREX ENERGY $110.58 (New York symbol XEC; TSINetwork Rating: Extra Risk) (303-295-3995; www.cimarex.com; Shares outstanding: 87.6 million; Market cap: $9.7 billion; Yield: 0.6%) plans to spend $900 million to $1.1 billion on exploration and development in 2015, down sharply from $1.9 billion in 2014. The company has cut back its spending plans in response to lower oil and gas prices. It aims to fund its 2015 spending from cash flow and the $406 million of cash it holds. That way it can avoid taking on debt, even though its long-term debt of $1.5 billion is a low 15.5% of its market cap. Even with the lower spending, Cimarex expects its production to rise between 3% and 8% over 2014 levels this year. If oil and gas prices rise later in 2015, it has the flexibility to increase its spending, which would also boost its production and cash flow. Cimarex is still a buy. buy. …