Topic: Growth Stocks

APACHE CORP. $68 – New York symbol APA

APACHE CORP. $68 (New York symbol APA; Aggressive Growth Portfolio, Resources sector; Shares outstanding: 376.9 million; Market cap: $25.6 billion; Price-to-sales ratio: 1.9; Dividend yield: 1.5%; TSINetwork Rating: Average; www.apachecorp.com) is selling its remaining Australian oil and natural gas properties to a group of private investors for $2.1 billion. It held on to its 49% stake in Australian fertilizer maker Yara Pilbara.

As well, the company has now sold its interests in two large liquefied natural gas developments: a 13% stake in Australia’s Wheatstone project and 50% of a proposed terminal in Kitimat, B.C. It received a total of $3.67 billion in return.

The sales are part of Apache’s plan to focus on its less risky onshore operations in North America.

Apache will probably use the total proceeds of $5.77 billion to pay down its long-term debt of $11.2 billion (as of December 31, 2014), which is a high 44% of its market cap. Apache also plans to conserve cash by cutting capital spending by 60.8%, to $3.8 billion in 2015 from $9.7 billion in 2014.

The company will complete some new wells this year, which is why it expects to produce 650,000 barrels of oil equivalent a day (including gas) in 2015, unchanged from last year. But lower oil will keep weighing on its earnings and cash flow.

Apache is a hold.

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