Junior oil and gas stocks set for a rebound

Article Excerpt

CRESCENT POINT ENERGY $4.04 (Toronto symbol CPG; Shares outstanding: 547.2 million; Market cap: $2.2 billion; TSINetwork Rating: Extra Risk; Dividend yield: 1.0%; www.crescentpointenergy.com) produces oil and gas in western Canada and Utah, with a focus on its Bakken light oil development in southeastern Saskatchewan. In the quarter ended March 31, 2019, Crescent’s average daily output fell 1.4%, to 175,955 barrels (91% oil, 9% gas) from 178,418 a year earlier. Despite that drop, higher realized gas prices pushed up per-share cash flow by 19.2%, to $0.93 from $0.78. On March 31, 2019, Crescent Point’s long-term debt was $3.8 billion, or a high 1.7 times its currently depressed market cap. The company plans to spend between $1.2 billion and $1.3 billion on exploration and development in 2019. That’s down from $1.5 billion in 2018. This year’s spending should let Crescent Point restore production growth—but at the same time pay down its debt and keep paying dividends. Crescent Point stock is down along with many energy producers. Still, the…