These two will ride out low gas prices

Article Excerpt

Natural gas prices recently dropped below $2 U.S. per thousand cubic feet, a 10-year low. That’s mainly because new shale gas discoveries have increased inventories. Prices have since moved up somewhat, to $2.70. The low prices have pushed down shares of producers that rely heavily on natural gas, including ARC Resources and Enerplus. Even so, the long-term outlook for natural gas prices, and for both of these stocks, remains positive. ARC RESOURCES $22.70 (Toronto symbol ARX; Shares outstanding: 290.5 million; Market cap: $6.6 billion; TSINetwork Rating: Speculative; Dividend yield: 5.3%; www.arcresources.com) produces oil and natural gas in western Canada. Its average daily production of 94,970 barrels of oil equivalent is weighted 62% to gas and 38% to oil. In the three months ended March 31, 2012, ARC’s cash flow per share fell 8.8%, to $0.62 from $0.68. Production rose 28.5%, but that was more than offset by 34.1% lower gas prices. The company’s long-term debt is $838.8 million, or a low 12.7%…