Pengrowth conserves its cash

Article Excerpt

PENGROWTH ENERGY $1.64 (Toronto symbol PGF; Shares o/s: 539.7 million; Market cap: $892.2 million; TSINetwork Rating: Average; Dividend yield: 2.4%; www.pengrowth.com) now plans to spend $190 million to $210 million on its oil and gas properties in 2015, down from its earlier forecast of $220 million to $240 million. The company also wants to sell $600 million worth of less important assets. It will use the cash to pay down its debt of $1.9 billion, which is a high 1.9 times its market cap. Pengrowth continues to benefit from its hedging program, which locks in selling prices above today’s low oil and gas prices. However, to conserve cash, it’s cutting its dividend to $0.01 per quarter from $0.02 per month. The new annual rate of $0.04 yields 2.4%. Like most oil and gas stocks, Pengrowth has moved down sharply along with lower prices. Still, we think most investors should maintain some exposure to the Resources sector—and oil and gas stocks—as…