Topic: How To Invest

Q: Hi Pat: I would like your opinion on Whitecap Resources, ticker symbol WCP. Thank you.

Article Excerpt

A: Whitecap Resources, $9.20, symbol WCP on Toronto (Shares outstanding: 367.6 million; Market cap: $3.8 billion; www.wcap.ca), produces and explores for oil and natural gas in Western Canada. Oil makes up 85% of its daily output; the remaining 15% is gas. In the three months ended March 31, 2018, acquisitions, plus successful drilling, increased Whitecap’s average daily production by 30.8%. Specifically, output rose to 73,120 barrels of oil equivalent from 55,886 a year earlier. The gain, plus higher realized oil prices, pushed Whitecap’s cash flow up by 33.6%, to $166.5 million from $124.6 million. However, cash flow per share rose 17.6%, to $0.40 from $0.34, as Whitecap issued more shares to pay for its acquisitions. Those purchases also raised the company’s debt. It’s up 64.5%, to $1.3 billion from $790.2 million a year earlier. Though that’s elevated, it’s still a reasonable 34.2% of market cap. Whitecap continues to grow by acquisition. That includes the $630.6 million it spent on property purchases in 2016. In…