Topic: How To Invest

CRESCENT POINT ENERGY CORP. $28.03 – Toronto symbol CPG

CRESCENT POINT ENERGY CORP. $28.03 (Toronto symbol CPG; Shares outstanding: 449.5 million; Market cap: $12.9 billion; TSINetwork Rating: Extra Risk; Dividend yield: 9.9%; www.crescentpointenergy.com) produces oil and natural gas in Western Canada, with a focus on its Bakken light oil development in southeastern Saskatchewan.

The company is now buying heavily indebted Legacy Oil + Gas (Toronto symbol LEG) for $563 million plus the assumption of $967 million in debt. Activist investors put a lot of pressure on Legacy to complete a deal.

The move will add about 22,000 barrels of oil a day to Crescent Point’s current output of 150,000 barrels. About 15,000 barrels of Legacy’s output is in Crescent Point’s core Bakken area.

As well, these properties are in Saskatchewan, beyond the reach of Alberta’s new NDP government (see Imperial Oil introduction at left). Crescent Point’s debt stands at $3.6 billion, or just 28% of its market cap, so it can easily afford to buy Legacy and other distressed producers. Even so, it plans to sell shares to raise $690 million to pay off most of Legacy’s debt.

The stock now trades at 7.1 times this year’s forecast cash flow per share. That’s reasonable for a company with strong potential to grow when oil and gas prices recover. As well, its dividend, which yields 9.9%, appears safe.

Crescent Point is a buy.

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