Topic: Growth Stocks

CIMAREX ENERGY $116.12

CIMAREX ENERGY $116.12 (New York symbol XEC; TSINetwork Rating: Extra Risk) (303-295-3995; www.cimarex.com; Shares outstanding: 94.8 million; Market cap: $11.0 billion; Dividend yield: 0.3%) produces and explores for natural gas and oil. Gas makes up 64% of the company’s output; the remaining 36% is oil.

The company’s properties are mostly in the Wolfcamp shale area of Texas and New Mexico. It also has production sites in Oklahoma’s Cana-Woodford shale region.

In the three months ended March 31, 2016, Cimarex produced an average 163,476 barrels of oil equivalent per day—up 3.8% from 157,515 a year earlier.

However its cash flow per share declined by 59.6%, to $0.88 from $2.18, due to lower oil and gas prices.

The company plans to spend between $600 million and $650 on exploration and development this year. That’s down 29% from 2015 levels, and 67% from 2014. In the latest quarter, the company operated 11 drilling rigs, up from seven in the fourth quarter of 2015. However, it plans to soon reduce that to four rigs.

Balance sheet is a big plus

The company’s balance sheet is very strong. That’s important given uncertain oil and gas prices, which have forced some producers to issue more shares and make drastic cost cuts. Cimarex’s long-term debt of $1.5 billion is a low 13.6% of its market cap. What’s more, it won’t have to start repaying it until 2022. Cimarex currently holds cash of $676.6 million, or $7.14 a share.

Cimarex is a buy.

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