Higher oil is a big plus for these producers

Article Excerpt

ENERPLUS CORP. $15.47 (Toronto symbol ERF; Shares outstanding: 244.8 million; Market cap: $3.7 billion; TSINetwork Rating: Speculative; Dividend yield: 0.8%) produces oil and gas from properties in Western Canada—Alberta, Saskatchewan and B.C.—as well as North Dakota and Montana. The company also has properties in the Marcellus Shale. That rock formation runs through Pennsylvania, New York, Ohio and West Virginia. Enerplus’s output rose 7.7% in the latest quarter, to an average of 92,883 barrels of oil equivalent per day (46% gas and 54% oil) from 86,209 a year earlier. Cash flow jumped 52.1%, to $173.8 million, or $0.71 a share, from $114.2 million, or $0.47, a year earlier. The big increase came from higher oil prices. Its realized oil price rose 43.7%, to $79.98 U.S. per barrel from $55.66. On June 30, 2018, Enerplus’s long-term debt stood at $613.3 million, or a manageable 15% of its market cap. That’s down from $1.2 billion at the start of 2016. The company also has cash of $360.4 million…