Output to rise despite spending cut

Article Excerpt

APACHE CORP. $34 (New York symbol APA; Aggressive Growth Portfolio, Resources sector; Shares outstanding: 379.5 million; Market cap: $12.9 billion; Price-to-sales ratio: 1.8; Dividend yield: 3.0%; TSINetwork Rating: Average; www.apachecorp.com) produces oil and natural gas from properties in the U.S., Egypt and the U.K. Due to weaker crude oil prices, the company plans to spend $2.4 billion on exploration and upgrades in 2019. That’s down 20% from its earlier forecast of $3.0 billion. Despite the lower spending, Apache still expects its production to rise between 6% and 10% in the fourth quarter of 2019, to 410,000 and 440,000 barrels a day. That’s because the company continues to develop its massive Alpine High discovery in West Texas. However, a lack of pipeline capacity in Texas could hinder the expansion of that project. Apache is still a hold. hold…