Encana cuts its debt

Article Excerpt

ENCANA $14.14 (Toronto symbol ECA; Shares outstanding: 741.1 million; Market cap: $10.3 billion; TSINetwork Rating: Average; Div. yield: 2.5%; www.encana.com) has sold 98.5 million shares for $14.60 each to raise $1.44 billion. The company will use these funds to redeem $1.6 billion worth of notes. As of December 31, 2014, Encana’s long-term debt was $7.3 billion U.S., or a high 90% of its $10.3-billion (Canadian) market cap. The stock sale has increased Encana’s total shares outstanding by roughly 13%. However, paying down debt will cut the company’s interest costs and help it conserve cash until oil and gas prices rebound. It could also use the savings to make acquisitions at bargain prices. Encana is still a buy. buy. …