Gas focus paying off for these two

Article Excerpt

PEYTO EXPLORATION & DEVELOPMENT CORP. $31.51 (Toronto symbol PEY; Shares outstanding: 148.5 million; Market cap: $4.7 billion; TSINetwork Rating: Extra Risk; Dividend yield: 3.1%; www.peyto.com) produces and explores for oil and natural gas in Alberta. Its average daily production of 56,343 barrels of oil equivalent is 89% gas and 11% oil. In the quarter ended September 30, 2013, Peyto’s cash flow rose 24.1%, to $0.67 a share from $0.54 a year earlier. That’s because Peyto raised its production by 22.4%. Gas prices also gained 16.0%, to an average of $2.97 per thousand cubic feet from $2.56, while oil prices rose 17.8%, to $89.46 a barrel from $75.88. The company has started up three gas plants since the quarter ended. That has let it activate 25 new wells, pushing up its production from 60,000 barrels a day to 70,000. In 2014, Peyto plans to spend $575 million to $625 million on exploration and development. That will let it drill 110 to…