Rising production cuts their risk

Article Excerpt

Natural gas prices are now at $4.50 U.S. per thousand cubic feet. That’s more than double their low of $1.82 in April 2012. The long-term outlook for gas demand and prices is positive, but prices could move sideways, or even down, in the short term. The best way to profit and cut your risk is to invest in companies that are steadily increasing their production and cash flow. Here are two producers with strong growth prospects and attractive dividend yields. ARC RESOURCES $28.78 (Toronto symbol ARX; Shares outstanding: 313.6 million; Market cap: $9.2 billion; TSINetwork Rating: Speculative; Dividend yield: 4.2%; www.arcresources.com) produces oil and natural gas in Western Canada. The company’s average daily output of 94,915 barrels of oil equivalent (including gas) is weighted 62% to gas and 38% to oil. In the quarter ended September 30, 2013, ARC’s cash flow per share rose 29.1%, to $0.71 from $0.55 a year earlier. Production gained 5.6%, plus its gas prices rose…